Equality is a slogan based on envy. It signifies in the heart of every republican: “Nobody is going to occupy a place higher than I.”
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
More Alexis de Tocqueville quotes
In the principle of equality I very clearly discern two tendencies; one leading the mind of every man to untried thoughts, the other prohibiting him from thinking at all.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville Slavery…dishonors labor. It introduces idleness into society, and with idleness, ignorance and pride, luxury and distress. It enervates the powers of the mind and benumbs the activity of man.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville One of the happiest consequences of the absence of government is the development of individual strength that inevitably follows.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville Socialism is a new form of slavery.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville If ever America undergoes great revolutions, they will be brought about by the presence of the black race on the soil of the United States – that is to say, they will owe their origin not to the equality but to the inequality of conditions.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville Rulers who destroy men’s freedom commonly begin by trying to retain its forms. … They cherish the illusion that they can combine the prerogatives of absolute power with the moral authority that comes from popular assent.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville In politics shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville When a large number of organs of the press come to advance along the same track, their influence becomes almost irresistible in the long term, and public opinion, struck always from the same side, ends by yielding under their blows.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville I vow that I do not hold that complete and instantaneous love for the freedom of the press that one accords to things whose nature is unqualifiedly good. I love it out of consideration for the evils it prevents much more than for the good it does.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville To remain silent is the most useful service that a mediocre speaker can render to the public good.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville 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.
Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de Tocqueville