Quotations from Alexis de Tocqueville
A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
All
those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to
know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.
Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.
An
American cannot converse, but he can discuss, and his talk falls into a
dissertation. He speaks to you as if he was addressing a meeting; and
if he should chance to become warm in the discussion, he will say
"Gentlemen" to the person with whom he is conversing.
As one
digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that
they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the
answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?
Consider
any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him
preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.
Democracy
and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice
the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism
seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
He was as great as a man can be without morality.
History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.
I
cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every
new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, every
social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may
absolutely refuse to move at all.
I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.
In
America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of
opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but
woe to him if he goes beyond them.
In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.
In
no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more
alert than in the United States, and nowhere else does the majority
display less inclination toward doctrines which in any way threaten the
way property is owned.
In other words, a democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
In politics shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.
In
the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of
ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved
from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.
It is the
dissimilarities and inequalities among men which give rise to the
notion of honor; as such differences become less, it grows feeble; and
when they disappear, it will vanish too.
Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.
Life is to entered upon with courage.
Life is to entered upon with courage.
No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.
No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.
Nothing
seems at first sight less important than the outward form of human
actions, yet there is nothing upon which men set more store: they grow
used to everything except to living in a society which has not their
own manners.
Nothing seems at first sight less important than
the outward form of human actions, yet there is nothing upon which men
set more store: they grow used to everything except to living in a
society which has not their own manners.
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
The
Americans combine the notions of religion and liberty so intimately in
their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without
the other.
The Americans combine the notions of religion and
liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make
them conceive of one without the other.
The French want no-one
to be their superior. The English want inferiors. The Frenchman
constantly raises his eyes above him with anxiety. The Englishman
lowers his beneath him with satisfaction.
The French want no-one
to be their superior. The English want inferiors. The Frenchman
constantly raises his eyes above him with anxiety. The Englishman
lowers his beneath him with satisfaction.
The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.
The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.
The
debates of that great assembly are frequently vague and perplexed,
seeming to be dragged rather than to march, to the intended goal.
Something of this sort must, I think, always happen in public
democratic assemblies.
The debates of that great assembly are
frequently vague and perplexed, seeming to be dragged rather than to
march, to the intended goal. Something of this sort must, I think,
always happen in public democratic assemblies.
The genius of
democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words
introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.
The
genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words
introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.
The
greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other
nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
The
greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other
nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
The
main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that
excessive and exclusive taste for well-being which men acquire in times
of equality.
The main business of religions is to purify,
control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive taste for well-being
which men acquire in times of equality.
The power of the periodical press is second only to that of the people.
The power of the periodical press is second only to that of the people.
The
surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic
paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours
breaking through.
The surface of American society is covered
with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the
old aristocratic colours breaking through.
The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle.
The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle.
There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.
There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.
There
is hardly a pioneer's hut which does not contain a few odd volumes of
Shakespeare. I remember reading the feudal drama of Henry V for the
first time in a log cabin.
There is hardly a pioneer's hut which
does not contain a few odd volumes of Shakespeare. I remember reading
the feudal drama of Henry V for the first time in a log cabin.
There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.
Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.
We
succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess,
but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
We
succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess,
but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
What
is most important for democracy is not that great fortunes should not
exist, but that great fortunes should not remain in the same hands. In
that way there are rich men, but they do not form a class.
What
is most important for democracy is not that great fortunes should not
exist, but that great fortunes should not remain in the same hands. In
that way there are rich men, but they do not form a class.
When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.