...De la Démocratie en Amérique – Tocqueville The ideal of a democracy, like the one developed by the Americans since 1776, lies in the fact that Men were born equals. This principle of equality has been the foundation of Tocqueville’s thought. All along this book, we can notice that the causes that enable the democratic state of America to be, lies on the particular situation of this country. Indeed, America lives under a pure democracy, without any aristocratic inheritance or revolutionary passions. This country has laws, recognized and applied by “almost” everybody. However, the country also has habits and morals deeply integrated (brought about by the diverse immigration) and particularly powerful. Usually within a democracy, common opinion rules the world. Although, the Americans hold a very particular philosophical vision according to which, each individual, unique, judge things by himself. As a matter, everyone cannot put forward his own opinion about every subject because if it was the case, he would dedicate and lost most of his time to study and, seeing that everything couldn’t be detailed, would go for some approximation. That is why Tocqueville says that, for some special domain, such as religion for example, it is necessary for the human being to come to general ideas. The example quoted by Tocqueville is very forceful and makes us able to catch the consequences of the emanation of an individual thought on this point. Tocqueville clearly distinguishes the individuals...
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...Alexis De Tocqueville, a young French explorer sets sale to the New World to study the American prison system. However, this is only simply a story to mislead others from his real objective. Alexis De Tocqueville is traveling to the New World to secretly study the great American Democracy. The purpose of this you might ask? The French must better understand American behaviors in how they feel and act, upon the essential nature of their freedoms. The French must take these learning and place them into their own practices to ensure they have a long last Democracy. In the Introduction chapter of “Democracy in America” by Alexis De Tocqueville and Richard D. Heffner, Heffner goes into length to describe all of the extravagant and detailed descriptions Tocqueville gives about the way Americans feel and act, due to the essential nature of freedoms from their Democracy. I have organized this paper into six different paragraphs that will be described in the following: First, an opening paragraph will let you know what literature I am referencing to when discussing this topic....
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...In the book, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville analyzes an extensive range of topics, with a prevalent theme being American attitudes and the democratic values of equality and freedom. But, there are some threats to the ideal democracy everyone visualizes when they think of democracy. These are mass society, democratic despotism and extremes of wealth and poverty. Tocqueville suggests multiple solutions to these issues. I think the issues of mass society, democratic despotism and the extremes of wealth and poverty are effectively dealt with through an increased social awareness and voluntary societal associations, control of local liberties as well as through an increased role of citizens in the judicial system. The three issues...
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...Aristotle and Alexis De Tocqueville’s teachings on morality and happiness creates a similarity in their virtues that protecting rights of the people help produce happiness in a democracy. Aristotle discusses in the essay “ The Aim of Man”, that we aim to set goals to lead us into happiness. He believes that happiness is an activity for our soul. The soul is an inanimate object that can be driven by passion, which drives a person to do certain tasks in their life. These actions lead into happiness if the task is done successfully. Aristotle’s teachings on happiness collides with Alexis De Tocqueville’s teaching that Americans need a daily support of some energetic passion. Happiness from Americans will occur by protecting the American people’s...
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...Alexix de Toqueville's book, Democracy in America, compares the way the French and American governments function. Specificity in chapter 11, Liberty of the Press in the United States, contrasts the media and how they portray "news". He starts off by saying that "the press does not affect political opinions alone, but extends to all the options"(p. 1). Later in the chapter he also references how the media is the most common, if not only means of getting information. He compares the French to the American media to justify his claim that the press can cause a great influence on how you view facts, and how the press can influence your opinion. "The press cannot create human passions, however skillfully it may kindle them where they exist"(p. 3). He goes on by stating in America political news is not affected by passionate citizens you truly care about the actual problems, rather than American passion in news mainly focuses on petty interests and consumerism. The intellectual part of the media have been depleted if not completely removed from our grasp. Whereas in France the main focus of the press is based on political interest and advertisements are limited. Other points Tocqueville make on American media is how we attack each other's ideas. "The United States has no metropolis;... instead of radiating from a common point they cross each other in every direction the Americas have nowhere established any central direction of opinion”(p.4). Our opinions are no longer formed on facts...
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...An Exploration of Individualism As Described By Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy In America By Mario A. Griseta Jr The classic work Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville has been the source of scholarly pursuit as well as strife within that same community. Through a brief examination of this text, several of Tocqueville’s arguments helped to define, for me, many of the constructs that made America what it was and that have led to what it has become today. Of the many themes and ideas presented by Tocqueville, his thoughts on individualism struck the loudest chord with me. Tocqueville describes America as a society of joiners because of the fact that it is a country almost entirely composed of immigrants. This, in addition to the pursuit and promise of “equality of conditions” that Americas touted as an unofficial theme, brought citizens from many classes together in closer proximity and relation. Although this sounds like a good thing, and I believe it is, Tocqueville argued that with this blending of social classes and as opportunity increased people would isolate themselves, "bond of human affections is extended and loosened" (p. 483). As people gained wealth and left behind the daily struggle to survive many sought out education and as a result of this enlightenment developed the "habit of always considering themselves in isolation" (p. 484). This individualism is likened to selfishness by Tocqueville but he is careful to point out that he does not believe...
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...Marx argues that the lower classes, whether slaves, peasants or the proletariat, are being deceived into religion because it is used as a tool encouraged by people in power to maintain their full control economically and politically. He finds that economically, politically and socially deprived people are the ones that tend to seek religion to deal with their cruel conditions, not realizing that these conditions should not be accepted, and that they should fight for their deserved equality. In this sense, with religion, even with philosophers insights' on religion, people of lower classes will not be able to achieve equality unless they change their society's reality as Marx indicates that "the philosophers have only interpreted the world in...
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...Liberty Democracy in America is a book that was published in two volumes by the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville. The book is a summarization of Tocqueville’s tour of America in the early 1830’s. He observed the process of democracy in America, race relations, and the notion of equality, which was not bound by class as it was in aristocratic Europe. The chapter of Democracy in America that will be analyzed in this paper is titled, “Situation of the Black Race in the United States, Dangers Entailed for the Whites by Its Presence”. Slavery and American racial mores circa 1830 will be addressed as we continue. At this time, the presence of blacks is the greatest dangers threatening America. African slaves were imported to many colonies and nations other than those in North America, but none of these other slave-importing countries achieved anywhere near the economic growth seen in the United States. Bacon's Rebellion was an event that redefined the notion of race in the United States. Africans were in America long before Bacon’s Rebellion. The Great Migration was a period that the colonies were in desperate need of laborers. Blacks, along with whites, worked as indentured servants. There were black indentured servants that owned land, some even owning slaves themselves. After Bacon’s Rebellion, there was a gradual change in the status of African Americans from indentured servants to slaves. Post Bacon’s Rebellion, there was a great demand for labor and that...
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...America’s Lost Reputation “There is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America,” states French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville in his book Democracy in America. This comment compels us to investigate America’s progress, and determine whether or not we still deserve such a reputation. Does this statement, which was published in 1835, remain accurate? Many citizens would claim that religion continues to play an adequate role in American life today, and why shouldn’t they? Every Sunday, millions of people flock to their various churches to sing the selected hymns and to listen attentively to a profound sermon. With so many church...
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...Besides summary, the discussion part should further involve a comparison of social thinkers. Read and discuss more original and/or secondary readings. Give your own views, and try to conduct a dialogue with the existing views. In this thesis, I will give a summary of the works by Alexis de Tocqueville and Karl Marx, a discussion on their ideas as well as a comparison of the two thinkers. Alexis de Tocqueville is an aristocrat thinker From France that provides the most famous and influential views on democracy. In his work “Democracy in America”, he regards America as a land of liberty and democracy due to reasons like mores, geographical and historical advantages, but also provides a foresight on the future of democracy in America, and the threats to democracy and possible dangers of democracy. He believes the puritans were the one that contributed the most to American democracy, since they were all middle-class men with no salient differences when they first settled down in America. Also, they brought religion and political liberty to Amercia. Marx and Tocqueville holds different views on human nature. For Marx, he reflected on what it means to be truly human. Since he thinks that all species-beings are communal beings, he disaprroves things like religion, wage-labour and other forms of alienation that bring us far away from our communal nature and we must overcome them. For tocqueville, he emphazied a lot on dignity and liberty and he thinks that we are all born free and that...
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...Alexis De Tocqueville recognizes both the distinctiveness of the American Judicial Branch when compared to foreign national courts, and the great powers judicial review possesses. It is safe to assume that Tocqueville viewed the Federal Court in a very positive light; he believed that the judicial branch forms “one of the most powerful barriers that has ever been raised against the tyranny of political assemblies” (pg 98). Tocqueville repeatedly praises the court. In addition to making the claim that the federal court holds the future of America in their hands, by wielding the “moral force” that creates order. Moreover, Tocqueville expands this argument by clarifying to the reader the two means in which a government can “[Defeat] the resistance that the governed oppose to them” (pg 131), or in other words, to restore order....
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...Tyranny and American Democracy Oppression is something dreaded by everyone. This universal fear was a much larger problem in the 1800’s than it is today. Tyranny was a fear that the Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and Alexis de Tocqueville had in common. The Federalists feared tyranny of the majority, or faction while the Anti-Federalists feared tyranny of the aristocracy. Tocqueville feared “soft despotism” but supported tyranny of the patriarchy. While the Federalist and the Anti-Federalists were the visionaries for America who tried to prevent different tyrannies, Tocqueville discusses the hypocrisies in America that the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were against. The Federalists strongly believed that the newly founded republic needed a large, centralized government in order to discourage tyranny of the majority. Hamilton voices this opinion when he says “a firm Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection.” (Hamilton, 66, Federalist No. 9) This is because a large, centralized government uses the system of the checks and balances, which prevent domestic faction and revolt. The Federalists made it clear that they opposed a mob ruling and the minorities being denied their rights. The main danger the new republic faced, they argued, was the superior force of an “interested and overbearing majority.” (Madison, 72, No. 10) The Federalists solution on how to deal with majority faction...
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...Raven Williams 10/2/2012 History of Political Thoughts TR 1:00pm Dr. Andrew Douglas Plato’s Plea Against Democracy Democracy is defined as a government by the people that exercise their rights through the elected officials and ruled by the majority. The written dialogues of Socrates by Plato take into account that democracy is actually inefficient and undermines the true values of their citizens. Plato’s best known and comprehensive work is the Republic. He criticized democracy as an inadequate form of government because it caused corruption of people through public opinions and created rulers whose main concern it to the ability to influence its citizen rather than being knowledgeable of proper rulership. Therefore, this government is capable of molding the perception and ideas of the citizens. According to Plato, democratic governance is a poor form of government due to the focus on self-interest rather than the welfare of society as a whole. In this essay, Plato’s background, views on politics will be presented first; then, his in-depth opinion of democracy and what he believed to be an ideal society. Plato wrote, in his autobiography Seventh Letter, that he could not identify himself with any political parties because they were heavily engage in corrupted activities. However, it was due to the execution of Socrates that provided Plato with the assurance that the existing governments were fallacious without any possible reparation. He perceived politics as unhealthy and...
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...Soci- 300 Classical Social Theory Question 1. Compare and contrast the views of religion held by Marx and Tocqueville. Religions, all over the world have always tried to find an association between mankind and nature and a relation between human beings themselves. One of religion’s main goals is to provide rules and guidance that create order and support for the people that follow it. However, the notion of religion and where it came from has been a subject of debate amongst many historians, thinkers, sociologists and philosophers. Karl Marx, the German philosopher, revolutionist, and sociologist, believed that religion was a manmade ideology. He did not believe that God made humankind; he believed we made God (Marx, 1978). Alex de Tocqueville did not believe in what I just previously mentioned. Instead, the Roman Catholic political thinker and historian believed that God created us and he was responsible for providing the people with the proper rules and keys to living in a materialistic and worldly place (Tocqueville, 1972 pp 359). In this paper, I will be contrasting the different views of religion from the perspectives of Karl Marx and Alex de Tocqueville. With that being said, and although by now we know that both thinkers have different views regarding religion, some of their writings show otherwise and in turn, we will find some striking similarities between them. Beginning with the ideas of Karl Marx; Karl Marx was known to be an atheist who strongly believed...
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...inmate count in the u.s The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations. Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences. The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King’s College London. China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison. (That number excludes hundreds of thousands of people held in administrative detention, most of them in China’s extrajudicial system of re-education through labor, which often singles out political activists who have not committed crimes.) San Marino, with a population of about 30,000, is at the end of the long list of 218 countries compiled by the center. It has a single prisoner. The United States comes in first, too, on a more meaningful list from the prison...
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