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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 restraint and servitude.

Alexis de Tocqueville

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Alexis de Tocqueville
Age: 53 †
Born: 1805
Born: July 29
Died: 1859
Died: April 16
Historian
Jurist
Philosopher
Politician
Sociologist
Writer
Paris
France
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville
Tocqueville
Alexis-Charles-Henri Clerel de Tocqueville
Common
Equality
Political
Seeking
Servitude
Nothing
Difference
Restraint
Differences
Seeks
Democracy
Patriotic
Liberty
Liberalism
Politics
Socialism
Word
Notice

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Democracy does not create strong ties between people. But it does make living together easier.
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I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.
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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 in the world.
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Despotism may be able to do without religion, but democracy cannot.
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Amongst democratic nations, each new generation is a new people.
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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. In that way there are rich men, but they do not form a class.
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A great democratic revolution is taking place in our midst.
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Physical strength therefore is one of the first conditions of happiness and even of the existence of nations.
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There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
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When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
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Useful undertakings which require sustained attention and vigorous precision in order to succeed often end up by being abandoned, for, in America, as elsewhere, the people move forward by sudden impulses and short-lived efforts.
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Generally speaking, only simple conceptions can grip the mind of a nation. An idea that is clear and precise even though false will always have greater power in the world than an idea that is true but complex.
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The more government takes the place of associations, the more will individuals lose the idea of forming associations and need the government to come to their help. That is a vicious circle of cause and effect.
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I know without needing to hear the voice of the Creator that the stars trace out in space the orbits which His hand has drawn.
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I considered mores to be one of the great general causes responsible for the maintenance of a democratic republic . . . the term mores . . . meaning . . . habits of the heart.
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Nations are less disposed to make revolutions in proportion as personal property is augmented and distributed among them, and as the number of those possessing it is increased.
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A state of equality is perhaps less elevated, but it is more just and its justice constitutes its greatness and beauty.
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America is a land of wonders, in which everything is in constant motion and every change seems an improvement.
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The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.
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