De Tocqueville's Three Threats To Democracy

While de Tocqueville warns of the threat of egotism, individualism, and despotism in democratic America, he counters these threats with an explanation of how America actively combats these potential vices. The three threats in democracy have greater potential to flourish as American equality becomes more coveted and widespread. In contrast with aristocratic nations, “democracy make[s] every man forget his ancestors…[and it] hides his contemporaries from him” (227). De Tocqueville continues to assert that democracy “throws [men] back forever upon himself alone” (227). Coveted equality in democracy has the potential side effect of isolation.
A primary way the America people combat these vices is through a focus on God Almighty. De Tocqueville