The collected works of Walter Bagehot

The Tyranny of Public Opinion

You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberias, but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next-door neighbour. What espionage of despotism comes to your door so effectively as the eye of the man who lives at your door? Public opinion is a permeating influence. It requires us to think other men's thoughts, to speak…

Jan 21, 2014 1

• public opinion