Alexis de Tocqueville

The Americans are a people of shopkeepers, and they have the virtues and vices of shopkeepers.

I have always believed that the love of truth is the most powerful of all passions.

The most dangerous moment for a bad government is generally when it begins to reform itself.

I am not a man of systems, and I have no desire to be one.

The American is a man who loves his country more than he loves himself.

I have always found that the most intelligent people are those who are most willing to admit their ignorance.

The Americans are a very religious people, but their religion is very different from ours.

I think that the most important thing for a nation is to have a good government, even if it is a despotic one.

The Americans are a people who are always in motion, always changing, always seeking something new.

I have often seen that men are more afraid of losing what they have than of not gaining what they desire.

The Americans are a people who are always complaining, but they are also a people who are always working.

I have always believed that the most dangerous thing for a society is to have too much liberty.

I am convinced that the greatest evil in the world is not poverty, but inequality.

The American is a man who is always trying to improve himself, and he is never satisfied with what he has.

I have always thought that the most important thing for a man is to be free, even if he is poor.

The Americans are a people who are always talking about liberty, but they are also a people who are always ready to give it up.

I am not afraid of the future, but I am afraid of the present.

The Americans are a people who are always in a hurry, and they have no time for anything that does not bring them immediate profit.

I have often observed that in democratic countries the people are more afraid of their own liberty than of the tyranny of a master.

The Americans are a people who are very proud of their country, but they are also a people who are very critical of it.