The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.

Often presented as a warning about how democratic systems depend on active civic participation, contrasting the harm of concentrated power with the harm of widespread disengagement.

The idea is that a single ruler’s abuses can be limited or resisted, but when many citizens stop paying attention or taking responsibility, democratic institutions weaken from within and public interests are neglected.