--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is, indeed, a most dangerous…" description: "\"There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history of a democratic people. When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_anxiety_there-is-indeed-a-most-dangerous-passage_2610758.png" --- # There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history… ![“There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history of a democratic people. When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education and their experience of free institutions, the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint at…” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_anxiety_there-is-indeed-a-most-dangerous-passage_2610758.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_anxiety_there-is-indeed-a-most-dangerous-passage_2610758.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_anxiety_there-is-indeed-a-most-dangerous-passage_2610758.png) > “There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history of a democratic people. When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education and their experience of free institutions, the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint at the sight of new possessions they are about to obtain. In their intense and exclusive anxiety to make a fortune they lose sight of the close connection that exists between the private fortune of each and the prosperity of all.” [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. When material desire outpaces education, citizens may abandon restraint, chasing wealth and harming collective prosperity. **In simple terms:** Too much desire, too little learning, harms society. Key Takeaway Balance desire with education and civic responsibility. Themes democracy materialism self‑restraint collective welfare Mood concerned critical Type analytical political When to use this quote - political campaigning - consumer culture - financial speculation - public policy Key Concepts political theory social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does consumerism affect civic virtue? - What education reforms can curb material excess? A Different Perspective Neglecting education can lead to short‑term greed overriding long‑term stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Gratification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratification/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Overconsumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overconsumption/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Restraint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restraint/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self restraint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-restraint/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-are-two-things-which-a-democratic-people-will-always-find-very/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The position of the Americans is quite exceptional, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-position-of-the-americans-is-quite-exceptional-and-it-may-be/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The public, therefore, among a democratic people, has a singular power, which aristocratic nations cannot conceive; for it does not persuade others to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-public-therefore-among-a-democratic-people-has-a-singular-power/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Among a democratic people, where there is no hereditary wealth, every man works to earn a living, or is born of parents who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/among-a-democratic-people-where-there-is-no-hereditary-wealth-every/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Had history been democratic in its ways, there would have been no farming and no indsturial revolution. Both leaps into the future were occasioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanis-varoufakis/had-history-been-democratic-in-its-ways-there-would-have-been-no/) [Yanis Varoufakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanis-varoufakis/) > [For starters, this country embodies something utterly unique: History's first democratic empire. Beginning in the post war era, we have used free trade and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armstrong-williams/for-starters-this-country-embodies-something-utterly-unique-history-s/) [Armstrong Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armstrong-williams/) > [We know from our own history that democratic institutions take decades to mature, and we know from past conflicts that freedom is not free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/we-know-from-our-own-history-that-democratic-institutions-take/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [History, in a democratic age, tends to become a series of popular apologies, and is inclined to assume that the people can do no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pollard/history-in-a-democratic-age-tends-to-become-a-series-of-popular/) Albert Pollard > [When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education . . . the time will come when men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/when-the-taste-for-physical-gratifications-among-them-has-grown-more/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“The relationship between experts and citizens is not “democratic.” All people are not, and can never be, equally talented or intelligent. Democratic societies, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/the-relationship-between-experts-and-citizens-is-not-democratic-all/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [The past is democratic, because it is a people. The future is despotic, because it is a caprice. Every man is alone in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-past-is-democratic-because-it-is-a-people-the-future-is-despotic/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Passion feels very democratic. It is the people’s talent, available to all. It’s also mostly bullshit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/passion-feels-very-democratic-it-is-the-people-s-talent-available-to/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Ethics are a key issue, and they're a key issue on the Democratic side, and all people have to be held to high standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bradley/ethics-are-a-key-issue-and-they-re-a-key-issue-on-the-democratic-side/) Jeb Bradley > [There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-nothing-more-tyrannical-than-a-strong-popular-feeling-among/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Art is not democratic. It is not for the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-serra/art-is-not-democratic-it-is-not-for-the-people/) [Richard Serra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-serra/) ## 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 Anxiety quotes > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [Bein Crazy is the least of my worries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/bein-crazy-is-the-least-of-my-worries/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. 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If I'm nervous I know I'm going to have a good show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-get-nervous-when-i-don-t-get-nervous-if-i-m-nervous-i-know-i-m/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [“Every invention comes through anxiousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-wadhwani/every-invention-comes-through-anxiousness/) [Rakesh Wadhwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-wadhwani/) > [“Do Not Be Anxious 25 e “Therefore I tell you,  f do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-be-anxious-25-e-therefore-i-tell-you-f-do-not-be-anxious-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing happens on its own, you have to make things happen. 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