Democracy gives every man the right to be his own oppressor.

Lowell’s aphorism points to a paradox of self-government: when political power is widely distributed, individuals can still end up constrained—sometimes most harshly—by their own choices, habits, or the collective decisions they help authorize. “Oppressor” here need not mean a tyrant in the classic sense; it can also suggest self-imposed burdens (economic, moral, or social) that arise when citizens accept demagoguery, conformism, or short-term interests. The line is a warning that democracy does not automatically guarantee liberty or wisdom; it requires civic discipline and critical judgment, because the mechanisms of popular rule can be turned inward, making people complicit in their own subordination.