Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

“In the United States, except for slaves, servants and the destitute fed by townships, everyone has the vote and this is an indirect contributor to law-making. Anyone wishing to attack the law is thus reduced to adopting one of two obvious courses: they must either change the nation's opinion or trample its wishes under foot.”

Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

Create image

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville
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

You May Also Like

“Even despots accept the excellence of liberty. The simple truth is that they wish to keep it for themselves and promote the idea that no one else is at all worthy of it. Thus, our opinion of liberty does not reveal our differences but the relative value which we place on our fellow man. We can state with conviction, therefore, that a man's support for absolute government is in direct proportion to the contempt he feels for his country.”

MenFeelsDoeIdeasCountryStatesGovernmentValuesWishDifferencesSimpleLibertyAcceptingOpinionSupportTruth IsDirectAbsolutesFellowsExcellenceConvictionWorthyProportionContemptRelativeFellow ManSimple TruthsDespotsRelative Value
Author:Alexis de Tocqueville
Create image

“When an opinion has taken root in a democracy and established itself in the minds of the majority, it afterward persists by itself, needing no effort to maintain it since no one attacks it. “Those who at first rejected it as false come in the end to adopt it as accepted, and even those who still at the bottom of their hearts oppose it keep their views to themselves, taking great care to avoid a dangerous and futile contest.”

MindFirstsHeartStillsEndsCareViewsEffortOpinionDemocracyTakenDangerousRootsMajorityBottomAcceptedRejectedPersistContests
Book:Democracy in America
Create image

“They all attributed the peaceful dominion of religion in their country mainly to the separation of church and state. I do not hesitate to affirm that during my stay in America I did not meet a single individual, of the clergy or the laity, who was not of the same opinion on this point.”

CountryStatesAmericaIndividualChurchOpinionAtheismPositive AtheismSeparationPeacefulChurch And StateDominionSeparation Of Church And StateClergy
Book:Democracy in America
Create image

“The impulses of my heart are the voice of Nature, which is never mistaken. The institutions that stand in my way are man-made and are only arbitrary conventions to which I have never given my consent. In trampling these institutions underfoot, I shall have the double pleasure of satisfying my inclinations and of believing myself a hero”

MenWayBelieveHeartMadeGivenVoicePleasureHeroMy HeartInstitutionsMy WayImpulseSatisfyingConventionsMistakenConsentInclinationArbitrary
Author:Frederic Bastiat
Create image

“If socialists mean that under extraordinary circumstances, for urgent cases, the State should set aside some resources to assist certain unfortunate people, to help them adjust to changing conditions, we will, of course, agree. This is done now; we desire that it be done better. There is however, a point on this road that must not be passed; it is the point where governmental foresight would step in to replace individual foresight and thus destroy it.”

PeopleIfsShouldMeanStatesDoneHelpingDesireCertainCoursesIndividualStepsCasesConditionsCircumstancesResourcesAgreeExtraordinaryUnfortunateUrgentForesight
Author:Frederic Bastiat
Create image