"The hatred that men bear to privilege increases in proportion as privileges become fewer and less considerable, so that democratic passions would seem to burn most fiercely just when they have least fuel. I have already given the reason for this phenomenon. When all conditions are unequal, no inequality is so great as to offend the eye, whereas the slightest dissimilarity is odious in the midst of general uniformity; the more complete this uniformity is, the more insupportable the sight of such a difference becomes. Hence it is natural that the love of equality should constantly increase together with equality itself, and that it should grow by what it feeds on."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from FrancePhilosophers from FranceHistorians from FranceCultural criticsSociologists from France
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chapter III.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Alexis de Tocqueville
1805 – 1859
158 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Alexis de Tocqueville →
Related Quotes
"When the ranks of society are unequal, and men unlike one another in condition, there are some individuals wielding t…"
"Those that despise people will never get the best out of others and themselves."
"Step back in time; look closely at the child in the very arms of his mother; see the external world reflected for the…"
"Born under another sky, placed in the middle of an always-moving scene, himself driven by the irresistible torrent wh…"
"The French want no-one to be their superior. The English want inferiors. The Frenchman constantly raises his eyes abo…"
"As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everythi…"
"Men sometimes submit to shame, to tyranny, to conquest, but they never long suffer anarchy. There is no people so bar…"
"The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing."
"In the midst of this American society, so well policed, so sententious, so charitable, a cold selfishness and complet…"
"The best laws cannot make a constitution work in spite of morals; morals can turn the worst laws to advantage. That i…"