"Lincoln would now see government not of, by, and for all the people but of, by, and for some kinds of people. It is government 'of the Busy (political activists), by the Bossy (government managers), for the Bully (lobbying activists)'.” #QotD

"Government is now very different from the one based on the common people that Lincoln thought would prevail [i.e., 'of the people, by the people, for the people']. Although his vision is still the most common encyclopedia definition of 'democracy' Lincoln cannot now be claimed as the father of our 20th-21st-century form of democracy.
    "Lincoln would now see government not of, by, and for all the people but of, by, and for some kinds of people. He would see it not as of all the people but as of the political activists. He would see government not as by the people but as managed by the politicians and their officials. And he would see government not as for the ordinary people but as for the organised in well-run, well-financed, and influential business organisations, professional associations, and trade unions. It is government 'of the Busy (political activists), by the Bossy (government managers), for the Bully (lobbying activists)'.”

~ Arthur Seldon, from his introduction to Gordon Tullock's book Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice.