Quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp, and fashioned them at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. 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 nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.

Summary

This quote by Alexis de Tocqueville describes the concept of an omnipotent and oppressive power that gradually takes control over individuals, shaping and restricting their actions and thoughts. This power is not characterized by force or tyranny but instead operates through a complex web of rules and regulations that inhibit individuality and ambition. It does not completely eradicate the will of man, but instead manipulates and guides it. The result is a society of passive and docile individuals, stripped of their agency and reduced to obedient and productive beings, controlled by a centralized authority.