The way people in democracies think of the government as something different from themselves is a real handicap. And, of course, sometimes the government confirms their opinion, unfortunately.

Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) American writer, philosopher, historian, architect

Quoted in Anne Chisholm, Philosophers of the Earth: Conversations with Ecologists (1972)
    (Source)

The last word is usually left off in most Internet collections.