Alexis de Tocqueville

On Democracy in America (1835, 1840):

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A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.

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America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

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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.

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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.

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The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.

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Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves.

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