--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the…" description: "\"“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become smaller: less practiced in the forms of e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg" --- # Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and… ![“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become smaller: less practiced in the forms of everyday power, more dependent on vast distant social machines, more isolated and atomized--and therefore more susceptible to despotism. He warned…” quote by Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg) > ““Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become smaller: less practiced in the forms of everyday power, more dependent on vast distant social machines, more isolated and atomized--and therefore more susceptible to despotism. He warned that if the "habits of the heart" fed by civic clubs and active self-government evaporated, citizens would regress to pure egoism. They would stop thinking about things greater than their immediate circle. Public life would disappear. And that would only accelerate their own disempowerment. This is painfully close to a description of the United States since Trump and Europe since Brexit. And the only way to reverse this vicious cycle of retreat and atrophy is to reverse it: to find a sense of purpose that is greater than the self, and to exercise power with others and for others in democratic life.”” [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. As societies grow, individuals risk losing civic engagement and becoming isolated, leading to authoritarian drift; restoring communal purpose and shared power counters this. **In simple terms:** Big societies can make people disengaged and vulnerable to tyranny; community purpose and shared power restore democracy. Key Takeaway Reclaim civic purpose and collective action. Themes civic engagement democracy individualism community power Mood concerned hopeful reflective Type political inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - local volunteering - neighborhood associations - citizen juries - public forums - community projects Key Concepts social capital collective identity political participation habits of the heart Questions to Reflect On - How can we strengthen local institutions to foster collective purpose? - What personal habits nurture civic responsibility? A Different Perspective If civic institutions are weak, individual effort may not suffice to rebuild shared purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Civics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civics/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/de-tocqueville/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) ## Related quotes > [“Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States in the early 1830s and famously proclaimed the emergence of Homo democraticus, a cheeky creature whose passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/alexis-de-tocqueville-toured-the-united-states-in-the-early-1830s-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trump did not spring out of nowhere, and I was struck by how prescient writers like Alexis de Tocqueville and George Orwell and Hannah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiko-kakutani/trump-did-not-spring-out-of-nowhere-and-i-was-struck-by-how-prescient/) [Michiko Kakutani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiko-kakutani/) > [“French writer Alexis de Tocqueville captured this sentiment, from a foreigner’s perspective, writing in 1831 after a tour of the nascent country that “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-h-bradley/french-writer-alexis-de-tocqueville-captured-this-sentiment-from-a/) [Elizabeth H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-h-bradley/) > [“The interaction of disparate cultures, the vehemence of the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity offered by a new life, all gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-interaction-of-disparate-cultures-the-vehemence-of-the-ideals/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“More than a century before Mills and Nisbet, Alexis de Tocqueville had remarked upon the uneasiness of the citizens of the young republic, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-sykes/more-than-a-century-before-mills-and-nisbet-alexis-de-tocqueville-had/) [Charles J. Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-sykes/) > [“The mindset of antiquity lacked economic science and sociological theory. The ancients did rather well with political narrative, although, except for Thucydides, no first-rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-mindset-of-antiquity-lacked-economic-science-and-sociological/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“It is their mores, then, that make the Americans of the United States...capable of maintaining the rule of democracy… Too much importance is attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/it-is-their-mores-then-that-make-the-americans-of-the-united-states/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” — Alexis De Tocqueville”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-r-bell/the-american-republic-will-endure-until-the-day-congress-discovers/) D.R. Bell > [“I consider myself a “social ecologist,” concerned with man’s man-made environment the way the natural ecologist studies the biological environment…the discipline itself boasts an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-f-drucker/i-consider-myself-a-social-ecologist-concerned-with-man-s-man-made/) [Peter F. Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-f-drucker/) > [“As early as the 1840s, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that America was populated by “so many lucky men, restless in the midst of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/as-early-as-the-1840s-alexis-de-tocqueville-observed-that-america-was/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [“Alexis de Tocqueville, the French thinker who keenly chronicled early American society, described the consequences of ever-increasing choice more than 170 years ago: In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/alexis-de-tocqueville-the-french-thinker-who-keenly-chronicled-early/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [World War II proved a hypothesis that Alexis de Tocqueville advanced a century before: the war-fighting potential of a democracy is at its greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/world-war-ii-proved-a-hypothesis-that-alexis-de-tocqueville-advanced/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [“The French visitor to America Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in the 1830s, described the connection between American individualism and historical amnesia: Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fea/the-french-visitor-to-america-alexis-de-tocqueville-writing-in-the/) [John Fea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fea/) > [I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-cleon-skousen/i-sought-for-the-greatness-and-genius-of-america-in-her-commodious/) [W. Cleon Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-cleon-skousen/) > [“Visiting America in the early nineteenth century, Alexis de Tocqueville observd that 'the sects that exist in the United States are innumerable,' and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/visiting-america-in-the-early-nineteenth-century-alexis-de/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) ## More by Eric Liu > [“There was an omnivorous intellect that won him the family sobriquet of Walking Encyclopedia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/there-was-an-omnivorous-intellect-that-won-him-the-family-sobriquet/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Have you ever watched someone become American? Last week, at a national citizenship conference I organize, thirty immigrants from 17 countries swore an oath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/have-you-ever-watched-someone-become-american-last-week-at-a-national/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [It turns out umpires and judges are not robots or traffic cameras, inertly monitoring deviations from a fixed zone of the permissible. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/it-turns-out-umpires-and-judges-are-not-robots-or-traffic-cameras/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [What we should celebrate more than diversity is what we do with it. How do we bring everyone in the tent and create something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/what-we-should-celebrate-more-than-diversity-is-what-we-do-with-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [“Far too many Americans are illiterate in power — what it is, how it operates and why some people have it. As a result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/far-too-many-americans-are-illiterate-in-power-what-it-is-how-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [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/) > [A basic assumption shapes most Americans’ mindset about labor: the belief that the death of unions isn’t my problem because I’m not in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/a-basic-assumption-shapes-most-americans-mindset-about-labor-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Americans need to call on Boomers, in their next act onstage, to behave like grown-ups. And there is no better way for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/americans-need-to-call-on-boomers-in-their-next-act-onstage-to-behave/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Here's a proposal, offered only partly in jest: no resident of the United States, whether born here or abroad, should get to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/here-s-a-proposal-offered-only-partly-in-jest-no-resident-of-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Like the 'little emperors' of one-child China, too many Boomers were taught early that the world was made (or saved) for their comfort and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/like-the-little-emperors-of-one-child-china-too-many-boomers-were/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [We're all better off...when we're all better off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/we-re-all-better-off-when-we-re-all-better-off/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end no segregationist scheme has withstood the force of a simple idea: equality under law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-no-segregationist-scheme-has-withstood-the-force-of-a/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [From the right, you get demagogues shouting about brown-skinned anchor babies and clamoring to deport the undocumented. From the left, you get advocacy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/from-the-right-you-get-demagogues-shouting-about-brown-skinned-anchor/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [You want to defend citizenship? Don't persecute or isolate those without papers. Just live like a citizen. That'd be a first-class way to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/you-want-to-defend-citizenship-don-t-persecute-or-isolate-those/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end, a new Americanization movement can't just be about listing our privileges and immunities, which we catalog in our laws. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-a-new-americanization-movement-can-t-just-be-about-listing/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) [Explore all 72 Eric Liu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become smaller: less practiced in the forms of everyday power, more dependent on vast distant social machines, more isolated and atomized--and therefore more susceptible to despotism. He warned that if the \"habits of the heart\" fed by civic clubs and active self-government evaporated, citizens would regress to pure egoism. They would stop thinking about things greater than their immediate circle. Public life would disappear. And that would only accelerate their own disempowerment. This is painfully close to a description of the United States since Trump and Europe since Brexit. And the only way to reverse this vicious cycle of retreat and atrophy is to reverse it: to find a sense of purpose that is greater than the self, and to exercise power with others and for others in democratic life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Liu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the-economy-and-government-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the-economy-and-government-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/eric-liu-9463_america_alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the_2693087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as the economy and government of America got bigger, citizens could become…” — Eric Liu", "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": "Eric Liu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Alexis de Tocqueville warned that as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the-economy-and-government-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/alexis-de-tocqueville-warned-that-as-the-economy-and-government-of/#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 } } ] } ```