I have always thought that in revolutions, especially democratic revolutions, madmen, not those so called by courtesy, but genuine madmen, have played a very considerable political part. One thing is certain, and that is that a condition of semi-madness is not unbecoming at such times, and often even leads to success.
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About Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis de Tocqueville was a 19th-century French diplomat, political philosopher and historian. Alexis Charles Henri ClĂ©rel, comte de Tocqueville, was a French diplomat, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). Read more on Wikipedia →