“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”
And
“In politics… shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.”
And
“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.”
And
“There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.”
And
“Born often under another sky, placed in the middle of an always moving scene, himself driven by the irresistible torrent which draws all about him, the American has no time to tie himself to anything, he grows accustomed only to change, and ends by regarding it as the natural state of man. He feels the need of it, more he loves it; for the instability; instead of meaning disaster to him, seems to give birth only to miracles all about him.”
And
“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?”
And
“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.”
And
“Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man; socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. 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.”
And
“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.””
And
“History, it is easily perceived, is a picture-gallery containing a host of copies and very few originals.”
And
“He who seeks freedom for anything but freedom’s self is made to be a slave.”
And
“God does not need to speak for himself in order for us to discover definitive signs of his will; it is enough to examine the normal course of nature and the consistent tendency of events. I know without needing to hear the voice of the Creator that the stars trace out in space the orbits which his hand has drawn.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken stronger hold on the affections of men, and where the profounder contempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“There is in fact a manly and legitimate passion for equality that spurs all men to wish to be strong and esteemed. This passion tends to elevate the lesser to the rank of the greater. But one also finds in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to want to bring the strong down to their level, and which reduces men to preferring equality in servitude to inequality in freedom.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“The will of the nation” is one of those expressions which have been most profusely abused by the wily and the despotic of every age.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“In order to enjoy the inestimable benefits that the liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the inevitable evils it creates.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.”
Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“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.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“What is not yet done is only what we have not yet attempted to do.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“In the United States a man builds a house to spend his latter years in it and he sells it before the roof is on. He plants a garden and lets it just as the trees are coming into bearing. He brings a field into tillage and leaves other men to gather the crops. He embraces a profession and gives it up. He settles in a place which he soon afterward leaves to carry his changeable longings elsewhere. If his private affairs leave him any leisure he instantly plunges into the vortex of politics and if at the end of a year of unremitting labour he finds he has a few days’ vacation, his eager curiosity whirls him over the vast extent of the United States, and he will travel fifteen hundred miles in a few days to shake off his happiness.” Democracy in America, Volume 1, 1835
And
“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.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
Amd
“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 in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“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.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“Americans of all ages, all stations of life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations… In democratic countries knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge; on its progress depends that of all the others.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“What most astonishes me in the United States, is not so much the marvelous grandeur of some undertakings, as the innumerable multitude of small ones.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“In democratic ages men rarely sacrifice themselves for another, but they show a general compassion for all the human race. One never sees them inflict pointless suffering, and they are glad to relieve the sorrows of others when they can do so without much trouble to themselves. They are not disinterested, but they are gentle.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within it, nowhere does she enjoy a higher station. And if anyone asks me what I think the chief cause of the extraordinary prosperity and growing power of this nation, I should answer that it is due to the superiority of their women.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“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.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“Two things in America are astonishing: the changeableness of most human behavior and the strange stability of certain principles. Men are constantly on the move, but the spirit of humanity seems almost unmoved.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult—to begin a war and to end it.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“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.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.” Democracy in America, Volume 2, 1840
And
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
Wikipedia: Alexis de Tocqueville
