--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would seem that if despotism were to…" description: "\"“It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png" --- # It would seem that if despotism were to be established… ![“It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png) > ““It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them.”” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that authoritarian rule can appear gentle, yet still erode human dignity without overt oppression. **In simple terms:** Mild despotism still harms people. Key Takeaway Beware subtle oppression. Themes politics freedom authoritarianism Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government policy - civil liberties - public discourse Key Concepts social contract human rights Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate hidden oppression? - How can societies stay vigilant? A Different Perspective Mild regimes may be harder to detect and resist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Degrade Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrade-men-5977669/) [Democratic Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-nations-1410208/) [Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) [Despotism Established](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism-established-3633479/) [Established Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/established-democratic-3475801/) ## Related quotes > [It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to-be-established-among-the-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism has so often been established in the name of liberty that experience should warn us to judge parties by their practices rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-aron/despotism-has-so-often-been-established-in-the-name-of-liberty-that/) [Raymond Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-aron/) > [After all, our Constitution was intended as a popular document. It was drafted and ratified by the people. It established democratic institutions. It entrusts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dewine/after-all-our-constitution-was-intended-as-a-popular-document-it-was/) [Mike DeWine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dewine/) > [“The democratic nations that have introduced freedom into their political constitution at the very time when they were augmenting the despotism of their administrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-democratic-nations-that-have-introduced-freedom-into-their/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Another tendency, which is extremely natural to democratic nations and extremely dangerous, is that which leads them to despise and undervalue the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/another-tendency-which-is-extremely-natural-to-democratic-nations-and/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Amongst democratic nations, each new generation is a new people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/amongst-democratic-nations-each-new-generation-is-a-new-people/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Democratic nations care but little for what has been, but they are haunted by visions of what will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/democratic-nations-care-but-little-for-what-has-been-but-they-are/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Democracy needs support and the best support for democracy comes from other democracies. 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Oppression became common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-too-long-many-nations-including-my-own-tolerated-even-excused/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [In any democratic, civilized - even non-democratic nations, if you are a nation, it means to say that in our case, if there's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-any-democratic-civilized-even-non-democratic-nations-if-you-are-a/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [We must help the reformers of the Middle East as they work for freedom, and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-must-help-the-reformers-of-the-middle-east-as-they-work-for/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/democratic-nations-must-try-to-find-ways-to-starve-the-terrorist-and/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/upon-my-arrival-in-the-united-states-the-religious-aspect-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Explore all 438 Alexis de Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More Despotism quotes > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“The central government was a despotism tempered by military rebellion and assassination and replacement of one scurvy lot of ruling dynasts by another. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-central-government-was-a-despotism-tempered-by-military-rebellion/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [When the savages of Louisiana wish to have fruit, they cut the tree at the bottom and gather the fruit. That is exactly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-the-savages-of-louisiana-wish-to-have-fruit-they-cut-the-tree-at/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/republican-despotism-is-more-fertile-in-acts-of-tyranny-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-despotism-failed-only-for-want-of-a-capable-benevolent-despot-what/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by-force-of-law-the-great/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“All despotism is bad; but the worst is that which works with the machinery of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/all-despotism-is-bad-but-the-worst-is-that-which-works-with-the/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-when-a-long-train-of-abuses-and-usurpations-pursuing-invariably/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [A court which yields to the popular will thereby licenses itself to practice despotism, for there can be no assurance that it will not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/a-court-which-yields-to-the-popular-will-thereby-licenses-itself-to/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Browse all 327 Despotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to-be-established-among-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despotism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to-be-established-among-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_despotism_it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to_774323.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might…” — Alexis de Tocqueville", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It would seem that if despotism...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to-be-established-among-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/it-would-seem-that-if-despotism-were-to-be-established-among-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```