its way into the political world as it does everywhere else. To
conceive of men remaining forever unequal upon one single point, yet
equal on all others, is impossible; they must come in the end to be
equal upon all. Now I know of only two methods of establishing equality
in the political world; every citizen must be put in possession of
his rights, or rights must be granted to no one. For nations which are
arrived at the same stage of social existence as the Anglo-Americans, it
is therefore very difficult to discover a medium between the sovereignty
of all and the absolute power of one man: and it would be vain to deny
that the social condition which I have been describing is equally liable
to each of these consequences.

There is, in fact, a manly and lawful passion for equality which excites
men to wish all to be powerful and honored. This passion tends to
elevate the humble to the rank of the great; but there exists also in
the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak
to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to
prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom. Not that those
nations whose social condition is democratic naturally despise liberty;
on the contrary, they have an instinctive love of it. But liberty is not
the chief and constant object of their desires; equality is their idol:
they make rapid and sudden efforts to obtain liberty, and if they miss
their aim resign themselves to their disappointment; but nothing can
satisfy them except equality, and rather than lose it they resolve to
perish.

On the other hand, in a State where the citizens are nearly on an
equality, it becomes difficult for them to preserve their independence
against the aggressions of power. No one among them being strong
enough to engage in the struggle with advantage, nothing but a general
combination can protect their liberty. And such a union is not always to
be found.

From the same social position, then, nations may derive one or the other
of two great political results; these results are extremely different
from each other, but they may both proceed from the same cause.

The Anglo-Americans are the first nations who, having been exposed
to this formidable alternative, have been happy enough to escape
the dominion of absolute power. They have been allowed by their
circumstances, their origin, their intelligence, and especially by their
moral feeling, to establish and mai