As quoted by F.A. Hayek in his 1956 Preface to The Road to Serfdom, De Tocqueville described the process of government enslaving a people in servitude:
The will of man is not shattered but softened, bent and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to be nothing better than a flock of timid and industrial animals, of which government is the shepherd.
As we lament the cultural decline in our country, this strikes me as another dimension of our decline, as we now approvingly look on the government as our shepherd. Do we not reject the good shepherd, while exchanging the truth of God for a lie, and worshiping and serving the creature rather than the creator?
Rachel Palmer
November 13, 2013
I think this statement describes our current political situation. It is not a dynamic shattering of the people’s will. It has been a slow takeover of people’s dependencies through laws and increasing government involvement in daily life. This has led to increasing dependence on the government as we look to them to instruct us in the proper way we should go.
David Hartung
November 15, 2013
This sounds to me like one of those times De Tocqueville waxed eloquent “out of school.” Anyone can prophesy doom and despair and the general waning of intelligence, and if you wait long enough, he or she will be right.
James Cohrs
November 19, 2013
I would agree with you to an extent David, but that does not take away from the fact that this quote has become true to an extent today and does seem to reflect the relationship between many societies and the governments. The circumstances of how long or easily it took for what someone said to become true should not take away from or belittle the fact that what he or she said was correct.
Irene Blocksom
November 18, 2013
This sounds like a scary yet accurate statement of our current society. With our aging population and comfortable lifestyle of the middle class, many have become complacent and overly dependent on governmental policies (many of which offer increases in wealth or support in the short run, but could have devastating consequences in the long run.)
Mitchell Adams
November 19, 2013
If you combine this with Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death warnings, it seems we probably need to pray more!
Courtnie Spain
November 25, 2013
I think this statement is right about how we have turned from the creator as our Shepard and made the government the creation the Shepard. We need to remember who we are suppose to be following and the government needs more men who are aware that they are not the highest Shepard’s that they are to follow what God has set out.
Ben Saxe
December 1, 2013
I think this is great because it is not that we have lost our rights, but we are softening to live life according to the precepts laid out before us.
Anonymous
December 3, 2013
Ultimate leadership comes from the Shepherd. He guides our paths, including the government leadership.
Mike Balboa
December 9, 2013
De Tocqueville demonstrates some interesting ideas and good points, however, throughout the course of history not many nations have thrived for their whole entirety. It is not surprising at all, though unfortunate, that our nation after over 230yrs is heading for doom due to the struggles of the fall.
Jordan Lee
December 10, 2013
I think this quote very accurately describes America at this time. Every other world power throughout history has eventually fallen, and it is not surprise that America is following the same path.