--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above this race of men stands an immense…" description: "\"“Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/alexis-de-tocqueville-1805-185_equality_above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense_2088004.jpg" --- # Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary… ![“Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/alexis-de-tocqueville-1805-185_equality_above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense_2088004.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/alexis-de-tocqueville-1805-185_equality_above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense_2088004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/alexis-de-tocqueville-1805-185_equality_above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense_2088004.jpg) > ““Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living? Thus it every day renders the exercise of the free agency of man less useful and less frequent; it circumscribes the will within a narrower range and gradually robs a man of all the uses of himself. The principle of equality has prepared men for these things;it has predisposed men to endure them and often to look on them as benefits. After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A powerful, paternalistic government controls citizens, limiting freedom and personal responsibility, keeping them in a state of dependency and complacency. **In simple terms:** Government overreaches, restricting autonomy. Key Takeaway Beware of excessive state control. Themes authority control freedom dependency individualism Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political discourse - citizen activism - policy critique Key Concepts paternalism social contract political theory Questions to Reflect On - How does dependence affect personal agency? - What alternatives preserve freedom while ensuring security? A Different Perspective Such control can stifle innovation and personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Manhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhood/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Supreme power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme-power/) ## Related quotes > [“Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications and to watch over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense-and-tutelary-power-which/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications, and to watch over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/above-this-race-of-men-stands-an-immense-and-tutelary-power-which-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Masculinity is risky and elusive. 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That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident, and mild. It would be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice, provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living? Thus it every day renders the exercise of the free agency of man less useful and less frequent; it circumscribes the will within a narrower range and gradually robs a man of all the uses of himself. The principle of equality has prepared men for these things;it has predisposed men to endure them and often to look on them as benefits. After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. 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