"The best argument against democracy is a five…

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter” is often said to have been spoken by Winston Churchill (1874-1965), but there is no record that he ever said it. The quotation implies that the average voter is not-too-well informed on the issues.

The saying is recorded in print since at least 1992.

Wikipedia: Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, historian, writer, and artist. He was the only British Prime Minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature and the first person to be recognised as an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

Wikiquote: Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (1874-11-30 – 1965-01-24) was a British politician. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.
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The biggest argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter.
. Variant: The best argument against democracy is a five-minute talk with the average voter.

Zazzle.com
“The best argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter. ” - Winston Churchill
T-shirt
Product id: 235453639489390306
Made on 2/24/2008 4:58 PM

Google Groups: rec.arts.tv
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Jeff Meyer)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 18:31:48 GMT
Local: Fri, Dec 18 1992 12:31 pm
Subject: Re: Picket Fences

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter.”
—Winston Churchill

Google Groups: alt.quotations
Newsgroups: alt.quotations
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Richard Schuerger)
Date: 1996/05/03
Subject: Re: Churchill on democracy?

The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter.
- Winston Churchill

13 July 2001, Daily News (Los Angeles, CA):
Winston Churchill said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.’’

14 June 2001, Los Angeles (CA) Times. pg. T3:
Winston Churchill once said that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute chat with the average voter.

Google Books
The Quotable Politician
By William B. Whitman
Guilford, CT: Lyons Press
2003
Pg. 170:
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, BRITISH STATESMAN, PRIME MINISTER, AND AUTHOR (1874-1965)