Quote#Politics & Power
The fundamental article of my political creed is that despotism, or…
Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (13 November 1815).
English (original)
The fundamental article of my political creed is that despotism, or unlimited sovereignty, or absolute power, is the same in a majority of a popular assembly, an aristocratical council, an oligarchical junto, and a single emperor. Equally arbitrary, cruel, bloody, and in every respect diabolical.
— John Adams
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