“Égalité is an expression of envy. It means, in the real heart of every Republican, " No one shall be better off than I am;" and while this is preferred to good government, good government is impossible.”

Original text (incomplete): L'égalité est une expression d'envie. Elle signifie, dans le cœur de tout républicain : personne ne sera dans une meilleure situation que moi.[...]
Conversation with Nassau William Senior, 22 May 1850 Nassau, p. 94 http://books.google.com/books?id=KuzvHHBxuqgC&pg=PA94&vq=%22an+expression+of+envy%22&dq=tocqueville+william+nassau&lr=&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0
1850s and later
Variant: Equality is a slogan based on envy. It signifies in the heart of every republican: "Nobody is going to occupy a place higher than I."

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Alexis De Tocqueville photo
Alexis De Tocqueville 135
French political thinker and historian 1805–1859

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