45 Best H.L. Mencken Quotes On Government & Democracy

Check out the best H.L. Mencken quotes that reflect his skepticism, sharp intellect, and unfiltered take on politics, society, and human nature.

Henry Louis Mencken was an influential American journalist, essayist, satirist, and cultural critic. Known for his intellectual depth and biting satire, he became one of the most influential public thinkers of the 20th century.

Born in 1880, Mencken rose to prominence through his work as a columnist and editor for The Baltimore Sun and his influential magazine The American Mercury.

His satirical reporting on the Scopes Trial, which he famously dubbed the “Monkey Trial”, cemented his reputation as a fearless social commentator.

Often called the “Sage of Baltimore,” Mencken was never afraid to challenge authority, question popular beliefs, or mock societal norms.

His critiques of government, religion, democracy, and education made him a controversial yet highly respected figure in American intellectual life.

Mencken’s unapologetic honesty, razor-sharp observations, and the courage to question everything make him stand out even today. His legacy reminds us that bold ideas and fearless speech are essential to a free society.

Here are the most famous H.L. Mencken quotes that inspire you to question authority, think critically, and embrace intellectual independence.

Top 10 H.L. Mencken Quotes

1. “Honor is simply the morality of superior men.” — H. L. Mencken

   

2. “Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” — H. L. Mencken

   

3. “A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.” — H. L. Mencken

   

4. “Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.” — H. L. Mencken

   

5. “Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.” — H. L. Mencken

   

6. “Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H. L. Mencken

   

7. “The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” — H. L. Mencken

   

8. “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” — H. L. Mencken 

   

9. “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.” — H. L. Mencken

   

10. “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H. L. Mencken

    

Best H.L. Mencken Quotes

1. “Sometimes the idiots outvote the sensible people.” — H. L. Mencken
2. “Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.” — H. L. Mencken
3. “What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.” — H. L. Mencken
4. “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.” — H. L. Mencken
5. “A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.” — H. L. Mencken
6. “It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.” — H. L. Mencken
7. “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” — H. L. Mencken
8. “The State doesn’t just want you to obey, it wants to make you WANT to obey.” — H. L. Mencken
9. “Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of jackals by jackasses.” — H. L. Mencken
10. “Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” — H. L. Mencken
11. “A politician is an animal which can sit on a fence and yet keep both ears to the ground.” — H. L. Mencken
12. “The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.” — H. L. Mencken
13. “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” — H. L. Mencken
14. “Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.” — H. L. Mencken
15. “The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” — H. L. Mencken

Famous Quotes From H.L. Mencken

1. “There is no idea so stupid that you can’t find a professor who will believe it.” — H. L. Mencken
2. “The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” — H. L. Mencken
3. “The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind whose ideas are idiotic.” — H. L. Mencken
4. “In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.” — H. L. Mencken
5. “The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it is true because he gets pleasure out of it.” — H. L. Mencken
6. “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H. L. Mencken
7. “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” — H. L. Mencken
8. “If there is one mental vice, indeed, which sets off the American people from all other folks who walk the earth it is that of assuming that every human act must be either right or wrong, and that ninety-nine percent of them are wrong.” — H. L. Mencken
9. “A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a streetwalker.” — H. L. Mencken
10. “People do not expect to find chastity in a whorehouse. Why, then, do they expect to find honesty and humanity in government, a congeries of institutions whose modus operandi consists of lying, cheating, stealing, and if need be, murdering those who resist?” — H. L. Mencken

H.L. Mencken Quotes And Sayings

1. “Socialist: A man suffering from an overwhelming conviction to believe what is not true.” — H. L. Mencken
2. “All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it.” — H. L. Mencken
3. “If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.” — H. L. Mencken
4. “There is no record in the history of a nation that ever gained anything valuable by being unable to defend itself.” — H. L. Mencken
5. “An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.” — H. L. Mencken
6. “The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.” — H. L. Mencken
7. “On the one side was bigotry, ignorance. hatred, superstition, every sort of blackness that the human mind is capable of. On the other side was sense.” — H.L. Mencken
8. “The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed a standard citizenry, to put down dissent and originality.” — H. L. Mencken
9. “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out… without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” — H. L. Mencken
10. “As democracy is perfected, the office of President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H.L. Mencken

Conclusion

Which of these H.L. Mencken quotes made you stop and think?

Whether you agree or disagree with his views, there’s no denying Mencken’s brilliance in exposing the absurdities of modern life.

What are your favorite H.L. Mencken quotes and sayings (with images) listed above? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section below.

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