《旧制度与大革命·卷二·第八章·法国人何以变得最为相似》第5节
I much doubt whether this was the case in the same degree anywhere else, even in England, where the different classes, though firmly united by common interests, still differed in their habits and feelings; for political liberty, which possesses the admirable power of placing the citizens of a State in compulsory intercourse and mutual dependence, does not on that account always make them similar; it is the government of one man which, in the end, has the inevitable effect of rendering all men alike, and all mutually indifferent to their common fate.
注释摘要
托克维尔在这个段落里作了一个对比，它既是本章论证的收束，也是全书核心论题的一次浓缩表达。他拿法国和英国来对举，不是比谁的制度更好，而是比两种政治结构各自催生出怎样的人际关系与社会心理。在英国，尽管等级之间的利害联结相当牢固，但他在那里看到的是习惯与情感的差异仍然顽强地保留着；而在法国旧制度下，他看到的恰恰是权利之外的一切都在趋同，而这种趋同最后导向的不是团…