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Democracy Quotes by Alexis de Tocqueville
- I have an intellectual inclination for democratic institutions, but I am instinctively an aristocrat, which means that I despise and fear the masses. I passionately…
- Better use has been made of association and this powerful instrument of action has been applied for more varied aims in America than anywhere else…
- Americans of all ages, all stations in life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations. There are not only commercial and industrial associations…
- Can it be believed that the democracy which overthrew the feudal system and vanquished kings will retreat before tradesmen and capitalists?
- 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…
- The will of the nation is one of those phrases most widely abused by schemers and tyrants of all ages.
- In democratic centuries, on the contrary, when the duties of each individual toward the species are much clearer, devotion toward one man becomes rarer: the…
- America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement. No natural boundary seems to be…
- Muhammad brought down from heaven and put into the Koran not religious doctrines only, but political maxims, criminal and civil laws, and scientific theories. The Gospels on…
- One of the distinguishing characteristics of a democratic period is the taste that all men have for easy success and present enjoyment. This occurs in…
- The progress of democracy seems irresistible, because it is the most uniform, the most ancient and the most permanent tendency which is to be found…
- Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each…
- In democracies, nothing is more great or more brilliant than commerce: it attracts the attention of the public, and fills the imagination of the multitude;…
- Democratic institutions generally give men a lofty notion of their country and themselves.
- Democratic nations care but little for what has been, but they are haunted by visions of what will be.
- Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people's reach...
- What chiefly diverts the men of democracies from lofty ambition is not the scantiness of their fortunes, but the vehemence of the exertions they daily…
- 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…
- A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
- There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.
- The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.
- What is most important for democracy is not that great fortunes should not exist, but that great fortunes should not remain in the same hands.…
- 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.
- The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours…
- Democracy does not create strong ties between people. But it does make living together easier.
More Ways to Read Democracy Quotes by Alexis de Tocqueville
More Democracy Quotes
- Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers. — Aristotle
- In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of… — Aristotle
- Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. — Aristotle
- If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when… — Aristotle
- Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are… — Aristotle
- Jeans represent democracy in fashion. — Giorgio Armani
- I think, as a general matter, clearly, the United States globally supports the development of democracy and the democratic yearnings of all… — Richard Armitage
- Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or… — Richard Armour
- Fundamentalists are not friends of democracy. And that includes your fundamentalists in the United States. — Karen Armstrong
- A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership. — Chinua Achebe
- Democracy is not something you put away for ten years, and then in the 11th year you wake up and start practicing… — Chinua Achebe
- Reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practice. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will… — Margaret Atwood