When property becomes so fluctuating and the love of property so restless and so ardent, I cannot but fear that men may arrive at such a state as to regard every new theory as a peril, every innovation as an irksome toil, every social improvement as a stepping stone to revolution, and so refuse to move altogther for fear of being moved too far. I dread […] lest they should at last so entirely give way to a cowardly love of present enjoyment as to lose sight of the interests of their future selves and those of their descendents and prefer to glide along the easy current of life rather than to make, when it is necessary, a strong and sudden effort to a higher purpose.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician
Democracy in America, 2.3.21 (1840) [tr. Reeve and Bowen (1862)]

 
Added on 29-Mar-13 | Last updated 29-Mar-13
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