Home / Quotes / Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

“It must not be forgotten that it is especially dangerous to enslave men in the minor details of life.”

Work

Published in the 19th century, this seminal work offers a detailed examination of the American political system, its history, and its societal implications. The author delves into the functioning of democracy, the role of the government, and the cultural fabric of the nation. more

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French historian and political theorist renowned for his seminal work 'Democracy in America'. He embarked on a journey to the United States in the 1830s to examine its democratic institutions, and his observations were compiled into a two-volume book that remains a cornerstone in the study of American democracy and political science. more

“For A to sit down and think, What shall I do? is commonplace; but to think what B ought to do is interesting, romantic, moral, self-flattering, and public-spirited all at once. It satisfies a great number of human weaknesses at once. To go on and plan what a whole class of people ought to do is to feel one's self a power on earth, to win a public position, to clothe one's self in dignity. Hence we have an unlimited supply of reformers, philanthropists, humanitarians, and would-be managers-in-general of society.”

Source: What Social Classes Owe to Each Other

“England would be better off without Canada; it keeps her in a prepared state for war at a great expense and constant irritation.”

War States Would Be England Constant Prepared Canada Expenses Better Off Irritation

Author:Napoleon Bonaparte

“Despite the miracles of capitalism, it doesn't do well in popularity polls. One of the reasons is that capitalism is always evaluated against the non-existent, non-realizable utopias of socialism or communism. Any earthly system, when compared to a Utopia, will pale in comparison. But for the ordinary person, capitalism, with all of its warts, is superior to any system yet devised to deal with our everyday needs and desires.”

Needs Wells Persons Reason Desire Deals Ordinary Capitalism Miracle Everyday Socialism Superiors Despite Communism Comparison Pale Popularity Polls Utopia Ordinary Person Warts

Author:Walter E. Williams

“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.”

Men Country States Law Steps Victory Raised Civilized Savages Every Step Sinking Colony Barbarism Discord Civilized Society Intestines Carthage Phoenicians

Book:THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (All 6 Volumes): From the Height of the Roman Empire, the Age of Trajan and the Antonines - to the Fall of Byzantium; Including a Review of the Crusades, and the State of Rome during the Middle Ages

Source: THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (All 6 Volumes): From the Height of the Roman Empire, the Age of Trajan and the Antonines - to the Fall of Byzantium; Including a Review of the Crusades, and the State of Rome during the Middle Ages

“Everything changes but the avant-garde.”

Things Change Avant Garde

Author:Paul Valery

“The more that things change, the more we need to depend upon those things that never change.”

Needs Depends Things Change Never Change

Book:Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money

Source: Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money

“There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, Dottie. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.”

Author:Paul Reubens

“The older I grow the less I esteem mere ideas. In politics, particularly, they are transient and unimportant. . . . There are only men who have character and men who lack it.”

Men Ideas Character Grows Mere Esteem Unimportant Transient

Author:H. L. Mencken