Education Quote by Walter Lippmann

There is a cool, almost surgical realism in Lippmann calling the opposition "indispensable". It’s not a plea for civility; it’s a reminder that power rots fastest when it’s overfed with applause. By pairing the lofty "good statesman" with "any other sensible human being", he drags governance down from patriotic myth into basic psychology: if you only listen to people who already agree with you, you don’t learn, you rehearse.

The subtext is a jab at the romance of loyal followings. "Fervent supporters" aren’t merely allies; they’re a liability, because fervor tends to confuse devotion with accuracy. Supporters bring validation, not friction. Opposition, by contrast, brings constraint: the annoying questions, the hostile interpretations, the alternative data points. Lippmann frames this as a learning relationship, not a moral one, which is quietly radical in a political culture that treats opponents as enemies to defeat rather than instruments that sharpen judgment.

Context matters: Lippmann spent decades watching mass politics, propaganda, and the press manufacture consensus. He knew how easily publics can be led, how easily leaders can mistake noise for mandate. In that world, the opposition becomes a diagnostic tool. It reveals what your message is hiding, what your policy breaks, what your coalition won’t admit. He’s arguing that democracy isn’t just majority rule; it’s adversarial feedback. Without dissent, a statesman isn’t governing - he’s freewheeling, and calling it certainty.