Alexis de Tocqueville
French political philosopher and historian (1805 to 1859); author of Democracy in America.
Alexis de Tocqueville did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
-
Every thinker takes far more truths on trust than they prove, and this is desirable
There is no philosopher of such great parts in the world, but that he believes a million of things on the faith of other people, and supposes a great many more truths than he demonstrates. This is not only necessary but desirable.
gutenberg.orgSaid c. 1840This on korrents
-
The spread of equality of conditions is a providential fact beyond human interference
The gradual development of the equality of conditions is therefore a providential fact, and it possesses all the characteristics of a divine decree: it is universal, it is durable, it constantly eludes all human interference, and all events as well as all men contribute to its progress.
gutenberg.orgSaid c. 1835This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 40 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Every thinker takes far more truths on trust than they prove, and this is desirable
There is no philosopher of such great parts in the world, but that he believes a million of things on the faith of other people, and supposes a great many more truths than he demonstrates. This is not only necessary but desirable.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
In democratic ages the mind must be pushed toward theory, since it drifts to practical applications on its own
In the present age the human mind must be coerced into theoretical studies; it runs of its own accord to practical applications; and, instead of perpetually referring it to the minute examination of secondary effects, it is well to divert it from them sometimes, in order to raise it up to the contemplation of primary causes.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Writers in democratic ages will aim to astonish and stir passions more than to please taste
The object of authors will be to astonish rather than to please, and to stir the passions more than to charm the taste.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Show 37 more
Democratic peoples love equality more than freedom, and will demand it even in servitude
I think that democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves, they will seek it, cherish it, and view any privation of it with regret. But for equality, their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Individualism first erodes public virtue and in the long run destroys every other virtue
Egotism blights the germ of all virtue; individualism, at first, only saps the virtues of public life; but, in the long run, it attacks and destroys all others, and is at length absorbed in downright egotism.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Equality fosters exactly the vices despotism needs, so the two reinforce each other
Thus the vices which despotism engenders are precisely those which equality fosters. These two things mutually and perniciously complete and assist each other.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
As equality grows, the art of association must grow with it if people are to stay civilized
If men are to remain civilized, or to become so, the art of associating together must grow and improve in the same ratio in which the equality of conditions is increased.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Self-interest rightly understood seems the moral theory best suited to people of our time
I am not afraid to say that the principle of interest, rightly understood, appears to me the best suited of all philosophical theories to the wants of the men of our time, and that I regard it as their chief remaining security against themselves.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Equality's danger is absorbing people in permitted pleasures, which may enervate rather than corrupt the soul
The reproach I address to the principle of equality, is not that it leads men away in the pursuit of forbidden enjoyments, but that it absorbs them wholly in quest of those which are allowed. By these means, a kind of virtuous materialism may ultimately be established in the world, which would not corrupt, but enervate the soul, and noiselessly unbend its springs of action.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Someone set solely on worldly welfare is always in a hurry, with limited time to enjoy it
He who has set his heart exclusively upon the pursuit of worldly welfare is always in a hurry, for he has but a limited time at his disposal to reach it, to grasp it, and to enjoy it.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
The new manufacturing aristocracy is among the harshest ever, but also confined and least dangerous
I am of opinion, upon the whole, that the manufacturing aristocracy which is growing up under our eyes is one of the harshest which ever existed in the world; but at the same time it is one of the most confined and least dangerous.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Democracy loosens social ties but draws family ties tighter
Democracy loosens social ties, but it draws the ties of nature more tight; it brings kindred more closely together, whilst it places the various members of the community more widely apart.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Trying to make the sexes equal by making them alike would degrade both
It may readily be conceived, that by thus attempting to make one sex equal to the other, both are degraded; and from so preposterous a medley of the works of nature nothing could ever result but weak men and disorderly women.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Where equality is lasting, great revolutions will be harder and rarer than people suppose
As I examine more closely the natural wants and tendencies of democratic nations, I grow persuaded that if ever social equality is generally and permanently established in the world, great intellectual and political revolutions will become more difficult and less frequent than is supposed.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Democratic nations most love peace while democratic armies most desire war, both because of equality
We thus arrive at this singular consequence, that of all armies those most ardently desirous of war are democratic armies, and of all nations those most fond of peace are democratic nations: and, what makes these facts still more extraordinary, is that these contrary effects are produced at the same time by the principle of equality.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
A tutelary democratic power may keep people in perpetual childhood instead of preparing them for adulthood
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.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Freedom may matter more in the small affairs of life than in great ones
For my own part, I should be inclined to think freedom less necessary in great things than in little ones, if it were possible to be secure of the one without possessing the other.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
A constitution republican at the top and centralized everywhere else seems bound to be short-lived
A constitution, which should be republican in its head and ultra-monarchical in all its other parts, has ever appeared to me to be a short-lived monster.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Equality may be less elevated than aristocracy, but it is more just
A state of equality is perhaps less elevated, but it is more just; and its justice constitutes its greatness and its beauty.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
Equality cannot be stopped, but whether it leads to freedom or servitude depends on each nation
The nations of our time cannot prevent the conditions of men from becoming equal; but it depends upon themselves whether the principle of equality is to lead them to servitude or freedom, to knowledge or barbarism, to prosperity or to wretchedness.
Democracy in America, Volume 2 (1840; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1840
The spread of equality of conditions is a providential fact beyond human interference
The gradual development of the equality of conditions is therefore a providential fact, and it possesses all the characteristics of a divine decree: it is universal, it is durable, it constantly eludes all human interference, and all events as well as all men contribute to its progress.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
A new science of politics is needed for a new world
A new science of politics is indispensable to a new world.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Alongside a healthy passion for equality, a depraved one prefers equality in slavery to unequal freedom
There is, in fact, a manly and lawful passion for equality which excites men to wish all to be powerful and honored. This passion tends to elevate the humble to the rank of the great; but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Without the spirit of local institutions a nation cannot have the spirit of liberty
Town-meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science; they bring it within the people’s reach, they teach men how to use and how to enjoy it. A nation may establish a system of free government, but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Centralized government is needed, but centralized administration saps a nation's public spirit
Indeed, I cannot conceive that a nation can enjoy a secure or prosperous existence without a powerful centralization of government. But I am of opinion that a central administration enervates the nations in which it exists by incessantly diminishing their public spirit.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Press freedom earns approval more for the evils it prevents than the good it ensures
I confess that I do not entertain that firm and complete attachment to the liberty of the press which things that are supremely good in their very nature are wont to excite in the mind; and I approve of it more from a recollection of the evils it prevents than from a consideration of the advantages it ensures.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Free association is a necessary guarantee against the tyranny of the majority
At the present time the liberty of association is become a necessary guarantee against the tyranny of the majority.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Universal suffrage does not guarantee a wise choice of leaders
I hold it to be sufficiently demonstrated that universal suffrage is by no means a guarantee of the wisdom of the popular choice, and that, whatever its advantages may be, this is not one of them.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Democratic institutions foster envy through a passion for equality they cannot satisfy
It cannot be denied that democratic institutions have a very strong tendency to promote the feeling of envy in the human heart; not so much because they afford to every one the means of rising to the level of any of his fellow-citizens, as because those means perpetually disappoint the persons who employ them. Democratic institutions awaken and foster a passion for equality which they can never entirely satisfy.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
It is execrable to hold that a people may do whatever it pleases
I hold it to be an impious and an execrable maxim that, politically speaking, a people has a right to do whatsoever it pleases, and yet I have asserted that all authority originates in the will of the majority. Am I then, in contradiction with myself?
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
No country has so little independence of mind and freedom of discussion as America
I know no country in which there is so little true independence of mind and freedom of discussion as in America.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
The legal profession is the only aristocratic element that blends peacefully with democracy
The profession of the law is the only aristocratic element which can be amalgamated without violence with the natural elements of democracy, and which can be advantageously and permanently combined with them.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
The civil jury is one of the most effective means of educating the people
I do not know whether the jury is useful to those who are in litigation; but I am certain it is highly beneficial to those who decide the litigation; and I look upon it as one of the most efficacious means for the education of the people which society can employ.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Religion is the foremost political institution in America though it takes no part in government
Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must nevertheless be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free institutions.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot
Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot. Religion is much more necessary in the republic which they set forth in glowing colors than in the monarchy which they attack; and it is more needed in democratic republics than in any others.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Tying religion to political institutions grows more dangerous as society democratizes
In proportion as a nation assumes a democratic condition of society, and as communities display democratic propensities, it becomes more and more dangerous to connect religion with political institutions;
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Neither good laws nor a good situation can maintain a constitution against a country's manners
I am convinced that the most advantageous situation and the best possible laws cannot maintain a constitution in spite of the manners of a country; whilst the latter may turn the most unfavorable positions and the worst laws to some advantage.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Racial prejudice appears stronger where slavery was abolished than where it exists
On the contrary, the prejudice of the race appears to be stronger in the States which have abolished slavery, than in those where it still exists; and nowhere is it so intolerant as in those States where servitude has never been known.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
The white and black races seem unlikely ever to live on equal footing in any country
I do not imagine that the white and black races will ever live in any country upon an equal footing. But I believe the difficulty to be still greater in the United States than elsewhere.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
Russia and America each seem destined to sway half the globe
The Anglo-American relies upon personal interest to accomplish his ends, and gives free scope to the unguided exertions and common-sense of the citizens; the Russian centres all the authority of society in a single arm: the principal instrument of the former is freedom; of the latter servitude. Their starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same; yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe.
Democracy in America, Volume 1 (1835; Henry Reeve translation) Said c. 1835
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
About the English under a post
Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.
The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.
Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.