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    Tocqueville Slides

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    Emmanuel Jimenez-Bacud, CSE-Professional,BA-MA Pol Sci
    Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed democracy in America and identified both benefits and potential problems. He saw equality as democracy's defining characteristic but warned that the tyranny of the majority could suppress dissent. Despotism and individualism may also arise if citizens neglect civic duties. Solutions include empowering independent institutions, decentralizing power, and upholding civil liberties.

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    Tocqueville Slides

    Uploaded by

    Emmanuel Jimenez-Bacud, CSE-Professional,BA-MA Pol Sci
    178 views16 pages
    Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed democracy in America and identified both benefits and potential problems. He saw equality as democracy's defining characteristic but warned that the tyranny of the majority could suppress dissent. Despotism and individualism may also arise if citizens neglect civic duties. Solutions include empowering independent institutions, decentralizing power, and upholding civil liberties.

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    Alexis Tocqueville's Ideas

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    Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed democracy in America and identified both benefits and potential problems. He saw equality as democracy's defining characteristic but warned that the tyranny of the majority could suppress dissent. Despotism and individualism may also arise if citizens neglect civic duties. Solutions include empowering independent institutions, decentralizing power, and upholding civil liberties.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    178 views16 pages

    Tocqueville Slides

    Uploaded by

    Emmanuel Jimenez-Bacud, CSE-Professional,BA-MA Pol Sci
    Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed democracy in America and identified both benefits and potential problems. He saw equality as democracy's defining characteristic but warned that the tyranny of the majority could suppress dissent. Despotism and individualism may also arise if citizens neglect civic duties. Solutions include empowering independent institutions, decentralizing power, and upholding civil liberties.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 16
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    The key takeaways are that Tocqueville analyzes democracy and its defining principles of liberty and equality. He also examines potential problems that can arise in democracies like tyranny of the majority and proposes various solutions to address these issues.

    Tocqueville sees the two fundamental characteristics of democracy as liberty and equality, with equality being the defining characteristic.

    Tocqueville sees potential problems as tyranny of the majority, democratic despotism, individualism and materialism, and class oppression.

    Tocqueville

    on Democracy
    Alexis-Charles-Henri de Tocqueville
    1805-1859
    Tocqueville (1805-1859)
    Frenchman of noble birth
    Jurist and public official
    Influenced by the events
    surrounding the French and
    American revolutions
    Seminal work: Democracy in
    America
    Democracy
    To Tocqueville, democracy has
    two fundamental characteristics:
    Liberty

    Equality

    Between these two, equality is


    the defining characteristic
    Equality
    Freedom may not be exercised
    without equality
    In a civil society, equality
    entails equality of opportunity
    In a democracy, true equality
    consists in the equal right to
    take part in government
    Political Power
    It is because of equality that
    political power becomes
    centralized in a democracy
    The more equality is enjoyed,
    the greater the distaste for any
    form of inequality
    The solution is to vest power in
    a central authority under which
    all are equal
    Democracy: Problems
    Potential problems inherent to
    democracies:
    Tyranny of the majority

    Democratic despotism

    Individualism & Materialism

    Class oppression
    Tyranny of the Majority
    Majority rule is an instrument of
    working democracies
    Justice is based on what is
    sanctioned by the majority
    However, majorities can be wrong
    They also inadvertently suppress
    free thought and free expression
    Despotism
    Despotism in democracies is of
    a less tangible though equally
    sinister kind
    Democratic governments seek
    to please their constituents
    They become the sole judge of
    what can make the people happy
    This suppresses freedom, breeds
    apathy and imposes uniformity
    Individualism
    Equality tends to make peoples
    interest focus on themselves
    If citizens become too
    individualistic, they will not
    bother to fulfill their civic duties
    or exercise their freedom
    Materialism
    Materialism results from passion
    for equality because people
    think that they ought to be able
    to have as much wealth as
    everyone else
    People neglect to use their
    political freedom due to
    personal pursuit of wealth
    Class Oppression
    Manufacturers are favored in
    democracies
    Division of labor makes workers
    more specialized at their tasks
    Equality leads to greater
    demand for goods
    Class Oppression
    Workers are confined to their
    specialized work
    Those with capital invest and
    control manufacturing ventures
    Their status is elevated and
    they learn new things
    The relationship between rich
    and poor is impersonal and
    arms-length
    Solutions:
    1. Autonomous public authorities
    Those who can act in spite of
    the general will
    Independent and influential
    judiciary
    2. Strong executive branch
    3. Local self-government
    Solutions:
    4. Administrative decentralization
    5. Religion
    6. Well educated women
    7. Freedom of association
    8. Freedom of the press
    Tocqueville
    The nations of our day cannot prevent
    conditions of equality from spreading in
    their midst. But it depends upon
    themselves whether equality is to lead
    to servitude or freedom, knowledge or
    barbarism, prosperity or wretchedness.

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