The aspect of American society is animated, because men and things are always changing; but it is monotonous, because all the changes are alike.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
In a democracy, those who choose to impose taxes can avoid paying them themselves.
This quote by Alexis De Tocqueville highlights a paradox in democratic systems, where the power to levy taxes often resides with those who can strategically benefit from evading those same taxes. It underlines the potential for inequity in tax systems where policymakers may not bear the financial burdens of their decisions, leading to questions about fairness and responsibility in governance.
Themes
DemocracyTaxationGovernmentEqualityResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a debate about tax reform to illustrate the responsibilities of elected officials.
More from Alexis De Tocqueville
All quotes βDemocratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves they will seek it, cherish it, and view any deprivation 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.
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Religion, which never intervenes directly in the government of American society, should therefore be considered as the first of their political institutions
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The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.
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The Indian knew how to live without wants, to suffer without complaint, and to die singing.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
Alexis De TocquevilleRead
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