Alexis de Tocqueville

The Revolution… was the result of a mature and reflecting preference for freedom, and not of a vague or ill-defined craving for independence.

Americans believe their freedom to be the best instrument and surest safeguard… to secure for themselves a government which will allow them to acquire the things they covet and which will not debar them from the peaceful enjoyment of those possessions.

The Federal Constitution… disavowed beforehand the habitual use of compulsion in enforcing the decisions of the majority.

To lay down… limits to the action of the government; to confer certain rights on private persons, and to secure to them the undisputed enjoyment of those rights… [are] the main objects.

No sooner does a government attempt to go beyond its political sphere… than it exercises… insupportable tyranny.

When…the people are invested with the supreme authority…they discover a multitude of wants… to satisfy these exigencies recourse must be had to the coffers of the state.

We could only solve our problems by cooperating with other countries. It would have been paradoxical not to cooperate. And therefore we needed to put an end to the Iron Curtain, to change the nature of international relations, to rid them of ideological confrontation, and particularly to end the arms race.

Education must provide the opportunities for self-fulfillment; it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore, in his own way.

I am sick of all the chaos and the nastiness of our politics. It’s exhausting, and frankly, it’s depressing.

America must be the teacher of democracy, not the advertiser of the consumer society. It is unrealistic for the rest of the world to reach the American living standard.

First rule of politics: you can’t win unless you’re on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.

I have a great relationship with African Americans, as you possibly have heard. I just have great respect for them. And they like me. I like them.

I think the cost of energy will come down when we make this transition to renewable energy.

Fascism is a caricature of Jacobinism.

Competition becomes transformed into monopoly. The result is immense progress in the socialisation of production. In particular, the process of technical invention and improvement becomes socialised.

I think the environmental problem will be the number one item on the agenda of the 21st century… This is a problem that cannot be postponed.

Michelle’s not somebody who wants to be deeply involved in policy development. She’s my closest friend and my most important adviser. But I don’t anticipate her sitting around the table trying to figure out tax policy. She’ll probably choose a project that she cares about. But her number-one priority is going to be these kids, and making sure that their transition is one in which the wonderful normalcy that they have is maintained.

It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold. Indeed, people must not be deprived of the right to think their own thoughts.

It is unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the street, public transport, and in other public places from the park to the supermarket.

You do not lament the loss of hair of one who has been beheaded.

Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.