Quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville

Each of them, withdrawn and apart, is like a stranger to the destiny of all the others; his children and his particular friends form the whole human species for him; as for dwelling with his fellow citizens, he is beside them, but he does not see them; he touches them and does not feel them; he exists only in himself and for himself alone, and if a family still remains for him, one can at least say that he no longer has a native country.

The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle.

Remember that life is neither pain nor pleasure; it is serious business, to be entered upon with courage and in a spirit of self-sacrifice.

The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.

Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.

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.

Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.

No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them; and though different men may sometimes find it their interest to combine for the same purposes, they will never make it their pleasure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

To commit violent and unjust acts, it is not enough for a government to have the will or even the power; the habits, ideas and passions of the time must lend themselves to their committal.

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?

As for me, I am deeply a democrat; this is why I am in no way a socialist. Democracy and socialism cannot go together. You can't have it both ways. Socialism is a new form of slavery.

If men are to remain civilized or to become so, the art of associating together must grow and improve in the same ratio in which the equality of conditions is increased.

I have only one passion, the love of liberty and human dignity.

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.

Men seldom take the opinion of their equal, or of a man like themselves, upon trust.

It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.

Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.

There is no philosopher in the world so great but he believes a million things on the faith of other people and accepts a great many more truths than he demonstrates.

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.