zlacker

No. If you have a new alternative, let's hear about it. Churchill wasn't saying there can't be a better system - he was saying that in his view democracy was the best of the alternatives tried to this point.

>>Alex63+(OP)
Well he would say that, being the leader in a democratic system and all.

>>igravi+6f
When he said that he had just been voted out of office, and therefore perhaps not as enthusiastic about this whole "democracy" thing as he usually was.

>>Symmet+Bg
I really didn't think this would be a particularly controversial quotation. The full quotation (according to wikiquote) is: Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

As Symmetry points out, it is from a speech (to the House of Commons) in 1947, after Churchill's first tenure as Prime Minister.

>>Alex63+sF
The quote is frequently used by fanatics (those who look at democracy with a religious fervor), as a conversation ender -- particularly when used after criticism of some democratic process. It almost always implies "we cannot discuss the shortcomings of this system because it is the best". It also often has an implication of "this is the final word on democracy, it is defined as the best, therefore whatever you come up with cannot be as good". This second association is why I replied as I did in my original comment -- it is the same as "love it or leave it".

tl;dr: the quote itself isn't bad, it just has been coopted by those with a certain fanatic mindest.