“The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.”
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)

Democracy

The political process…a mere battle of rival rogues. But the mob remains quite free to decide between them.

~ H.L. Mencken Notes On Democracy (1926)