--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As one digs deeper into the national…" description: "\"“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg" --- # As one digs deeper into the national character of the… ![“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much mon- ey will it bring in? —Alexis de Tocqueville, letter to Ernest de Chabrol, June 9, 1831 1” quote by Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg) > ““As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much mon- ey will it bring in?     —Alexis de Tocqueville, letter to Ernest de Chabrol, June 9, 1831                                         1”” [Morris Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tocqueville critiques American materialism, claiming the nation measures value solely by monetary gain. **In simple terms:** Americans value everything by money. Key Takeaway Question the role of money in society. Themes materialism culture values Mood critical analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy making - personal finance - media analysis - community development Key Concepts economics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you define success beyond money? - What non‑financial values guide you? A Different Perspective Some value non‑monetary achievements highly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/de-tocqueville/) ## Related quotes > [As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one-2/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [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. 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Bell [Browse all 32 De Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/de-tocqueville/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much mon- ey will it bring in?     —Alexis de Tocqueville, letter to Ernest de Chabrol, June 9, 1831                                         1”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morris Berman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "De Tocqueville" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/morris-berman-44141_de-tocqueville_as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-cha_3060246.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of…” — Morris Berman", "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": "Morris Berman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-berman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As one digs deeper into the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-berman/as-one-digs-deeper-into-the-national-character-of-the-americans-one/#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 } } ] } ```