Volume I, Book Two, Chapter V: Of the Use Which the Americans Make of Public Associations in Civil Life
Alexis de Tocqueville
In Tocqueville's time, the rising tide of capitalism in America was already diverting ambition away from public life and into private enterprise. He observed a curious inversion: where European aristocracies might channel their brightest into statecraft, American democracy saw its most talented citizens diverted toward wealth, leaving the less capable to govern. The quote hints at a systemic vulnerability—prosperity as both a strength and a sedative to civic engagement.