Democracy has been described as four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch (1990)

[Joel S. Berson]

Jefferson seems to like analogues involving wolves.  He also referred
to a political situation as like "having a wolf by both ears".  That
goes back to the Romans -- perhaps the wolves and lamb voting does also.

Joel

At 10/21/2009 10:14 AM, Garson O'Toole wrote:
>In 2007 and 2008 ADS-L members discussed a quote that is misattributed
>to Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, H. L. Mencken, and Vladimir Lenin.
>Barry Popik dealt with the quote at the Room Eight website in 2007.
>Here is a version from a recent book:
>
>On the door of my office is a quotation attributed to Benjamin
>Franklin: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have
>for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
>
>Moyers on Democracy by Bill Moyers, page 314, Doubleday, New York, 2009.
>
>The Usenet Google Archive has some examples from 1991 that were
>mentioned on ADS-L and at Barry Popik's website. Below is a citation
>from 1990. The last sentence is absent, and the quote mentions four
>wolves instead of two. Perhaps two of the wolves were eaten.
>
>Democracy has been described as four wolves and a lamb voting on what
>to have for lunch.
>
>"'Mainstream Values' Vs. Campus Pluralism - Campus Correspondence -
>The Privileged Classes Must Yield in the Name of Equality" by Charles
>Flatt and Sheila, Los Angeles Times, November 25, 1990.
>
>http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-25/opinion/op-7188_1_american-values
>
>Sometimes the attribution goes to Jefferson, and he actually did talk
>about "wolves over sheep" but with a different perspective. Below are
>two examples from the E-Text Archive at the University of Virginia. In
>the second quote Jefferson is criticizing "governments of force" and
>not democracies.
>
>"Courts love the people always, as wolves do the sheep." -- Thomas
>Jefferson to John Jay, 1789. ME 7:264
>
>"Societies exist under three forms, sufficiently distinguishable. 1.
>Without government, as among our Indians. 2. Under governments,
>wherein the will of everyone has a just influence; as is the case in
>England, in a slight degree, and in our States, in a great one. 3.
>Under governments of force; as is the case in all other monarchies,
>and in most of the other republics. To have an idea of the curse of
>existence under these last, they must be seen. It is a government of
>wolves over sheep. -- Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. ME 6:64
>
>http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff0400.htm
>
>Garson O'Toole
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org