Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994), p. 333
• Compare earlier version by Marvin Simkin, "Individual Rights", Los Angeles Times, 12 January 1992:http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-tax-individual-rights-san-diego "Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote."
• Compare earlier version by Charles Flatt and Sheila Allen, "'Mainstream Values' Vs. Campus Pluralism : Campus Correspondence : The Privileged Classes Must Yield in the Name of Equality", Los Angeles Times, 25 November 1990:http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-25/opinion/op-7188_1_american-values "Democracy has been described as four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Unmoderated majority rule means that the mistakes, the ignorance and the prejudices of the majority will become law. Minorities will be devoured, and the resulting society will be one of enforced and fearful homogeneity."
• Compare earlier version by James Bovard, "Re: One Person's Impact", Usenet group sci.environment, 23 April 1990:https://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/sci.environment/hos-RvIO1Mw/b3f0iWMcewUJ "A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Winston Churchill wasn't necessarily making a compliment when he said that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the rest. Democracy has no more claim to legitimacy than totalitarian dictatorship."
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Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

— James Bovard

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner." in the context of "Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994), p. 333
• Compare earlier version by Marvin Simkin, "Individual Rights", Los Angeles Times, 12 January 1992:http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-tax-individual-rights-san-diego "Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote."
• Compare earlier version by Charles Flatt and Sheila Allen, "'Mainstream Values' Vs. Campus Pluralism : Campus Correspondence : The Privileged Classes Must Yield in the Name of Equality", Los Angeles Times, 25 November 1990:http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-25/opinion/op-7188_1_american-values "Democracy has been described as four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Unmoderated majority rule means that the mistakes, the ignorance and the prejudices of the majority will become law. Minorities will be devoured, and the resulting society will be one of enforced and fearful homogeneity."
• Compare earlier version by James Bovard, "Re: One Person's Impact", Usenet group sci.environment, 23 April 1990:https://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/sci.environment/hos-RvIO1Mw/b3f0iWMcewUJ "A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Winston Churchill wasn't necessarily making a compliment when he said that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the rest. Democracy has no more claim to legitimacy than totalitarian dictatorship."" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "James Bovard" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
James Bovard

About James Bovard

James Bovard (born 1956) is a bestselling libertarian author and lecturer, whose political commentary targets examples of waste, failures, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power in government.