--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no country in the world in which…" description: "\"There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for com..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg" --- # There is no country in the world in which everything can… ![“There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense and public morality.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg) > “There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense and public morality.” [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. Law and institutions cannot replace common sense and public morality as foundations of a functional society. **In simple terms:** Society needs moral judgment beyond rules. Key Takeaway Cultivate common sense and morality. Themes politics law morality civil society Mood serious concerned Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - legislative drafting - community organizing - education policy - media regulation Key Concepts Social contract public ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens foster public morality? - What role should education play? A Different Perspective Legal frameworks can be misused without moral grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Institutions Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions-prove-3014557/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-political-2817966/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-institutions/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Prove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prove/) [Public Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-morality-1096700/) [Substitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substitutes/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Laws themselves, political Constitutions, are not our Life; but only the house wherein our Life is led.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/laws-themselves-political-constitutions-are-not-our-life-but-only-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Democratically-controlled states such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, and New York have passed significant gun control laws. Yet, even here, there has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-enten/democratically-controlled-states-such-as-california-colorado/) [Harry Enten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-enten/) > [Let reverence for the laws . . . become the political religion of the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-reverence-for-the-laws-become-the-political-religion-of-the-nation/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Religion in America . . . Must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions for that country; for if it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/religion-in-america-must-be-regarded-as-the-foremost-of-the-political/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/religion-which-never-intervenes-directly-in-the-government-of/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“The people of North America have little idea of religion, but they have strict public morality. The Latin people are without morality but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marnham/the-people-of-north-america-have-little-idea-of-religion-but-they/) [Patrick Marnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marnham/) > [I believe that a long step toward public morality will have been taken when sins are called by their right names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-sunday/i-believe-that-a-long-step-toward-public-morality-will-have-been/) [Billy Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-sunday/) > [The values derived from religious belief will not - and should not - be accepted as part of the public morality unless they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-values-derived-from-religious-belief-will-not-and-should-not-be/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [... the structure of our public morality crashed to earth. Above its grave a tombstone read, "Be tolerant--even of evil." Logically the next step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/the-structure-of-our-public-morality-crashed-to-earth-above-its-grave/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [At the heart of our public morality is the idea that he who gives generously is most virtuous and morally praiseworthy; that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/at-the-heart-of-our-public-morality-is-the-idea-that-he-who-gives/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [I'm sure that the standard of public morality we've helped build will force government in Canada to approve complete health insurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-douglas/i-m-sure-that-the-standard-of-public-morality-we-ve-helped-build-will/) [Tommy Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-douglas/) > [“Fundamentalism only ever deepens public hypocrisy, not public morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-bradley/fundamentalism-only-ever-deepens-public-hypocrisy-not-public-morality/) [John R. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-bradley/) > [“Another aspect of behavior directly impacted by the removal of religious principles was morality. Recall that both George Washington and Fisher Ames had warned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/another-aspect-of-behavior-directly-impacted-by-the-removal-of/) [David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/) > [There is a crisis of public morality. Instead of policing bedrooms, we ought to be doing a better job policing boardrooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/there-is-a-crisis-of-public-morality-instead-of-policing-bedrooms-we/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [To set up as a standard of public morality a notion which can neither be defined nor conceived is to open the door to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/to-set-up-as-a-standard-of-public-morality-a-notion-which-can-neither/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## 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 Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which political institutions can prove a substitute for common sense and public morality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-which-everything-can-be-provided/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Common" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-which-everything-can-be-provided/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_common_there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-whic_1118547.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no country in the world in which everything can be provided for by the laws, or in which political…” — 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": "There is no country in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-which-everything-can-be-provided/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-no-country-in-the-world-in-which-everything-can-be-provided/#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 } } ] } ```