Summary Of Democracy In America By Tocqueville

In ‘Democracy in America’, Alexis De Tocqueville analyses democracy, seen as egalitarian social conditions. While he acknowledges its merits in guaranteeing the economic and political stability of nations, he also warns that democratic systems have the potential to bring about various social handicaps, namely ‘individualism’ and ‘democratic nepotism’ - unless intermediate institutions are introduced. Marx, on the hand, dismisses the idea that politics are at the heart of modern society’s issues, and rather argues that capitalist economies are precisely the root of any pathologies modernity brings about.
Tocqueville argues that democratic societies, by virtue of seeking equality, inevitably lead to individualism, which he defines as “a clam and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows”. (De Tocqueville, 482). In fact, he claims that an egalitarian society eliminates the expectation of caring for others, and slowly turns individuals into self-centered citizens. According to Tocqueville, individualism in this context is
Such a situation ultimately leads to the concentration of power within an absolute, all-dominant ruler, albeit voted upon, and to Tocqueville, that is nothing but (soft) despotism. He argues that in such a society, “the individual seems of less and the society of greater importance … [and this] would degrade men rather than torment them” (De Tocqueville, 669). Tocqueville further claims that as long as the power of the state is believed to come from the people, individuals consider compatible with the rule of the majority, and hence see no need to limit it. Despotism in this sense is then fully democratic, and threatens to erode free will and political