Alexis De Tocqueville starts off his argument by emphasizing that the “love of comfort has become the dominant national feature” (Democracy in America, 131.) Tocqueville compares the low and high social-economic classes to provide an example of the value of money. The poor spend their lives dreaming about living comfortably and envying those who have the privilege of doing so. As for the rich, they constantly live in fear of losing their comfortability and are truly never satisfied with their economical achievements. Both live a never-ending cycle of striving for a pleasure that may be unattainable or in some cases non-sufficient. Alexis states that the love of material prosperity has people constantly changing their course, because of the fear to miss a shortcut to happiness (132). In other words, Americans portray themselves as tragic, simply for always wanting more regardless of how much is already
Alexis De Tocqueville starts off his argument by emphasizing that the “love of comfort has become the dominant national feature” (Democracy in America, 131.) Tocqueville compares the low and high social-economic classes to provide an example of the value of money. The poor spend their lives dreaming about living comfortably and envying those who have the privilege of doing so. As for the rich, they constantly live in fear of losing their comfortability and are truly never satisfied with their economical achievements. Both live a never-ending cycle of striving for a pleasure that may be unattainable or in some cases non-sufficient. Alexis states that the love of material prosperity has people constantly changing their course, because of the fear to miss a shortcut to happiness (132). In other words, Americans portray themselves as tragic, simply for always wanting more regardless of how much is already