Alexis de Tocqueville Sociology 100 The people reign in the American political world like God over the universe

Course website adamgomez.wordpress.com/teaching/soci100 Lecture slides, course documents

Method The condition of society is normally the result of circumstances, sometimes of laws, more often than not a combination of these two causes; but, once it is established, we can consider it as the fundamental source of most of the laws, customs, and ideas which regulate the conduct of nations; whatever it does not produce, it modifies. (58)

“Pilgrims” Puritanism “almost as much a political theory as a religious doctrine.” (46) Equality before God Emphasis on mutually agreed upon covenant for governance Laws passed by consent of the community Along with penal laws “redolent of the narrow bigotry of sect and religious fanaticism” exist political laws “which, although enacted two hundred years ago, seem still to anticipate the spirit of freedom of our own times.” (52)

Aspects of Puritan Gov’t All in service of religious aims Voting on gov’t, laws, taxes Personal responsibility of those in power Individual freedom Trial by jury Universal (male) militia service Public education Protection of the poor Record keeping & administration (51-54)

Religion, Liberty & Equality “The founders of New England were both sectarian fanatics & noble innovators.” (55) Believing religious law eternal, they saw political laws as infinitely flexible Reconciling the spirit of liberty and spirit of religion The town was organized before the nation, and at the Revolution the New England concept of equality came to organize the new nation “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”

Law & Society in America I am astonished that commentators old and new have not attributed to the laws of inheritance a greater influence on the progress of human affairs. (60) Primogeniture keeps wealth & property unified A modern corporation has a similar function Equal inheritance divides it, diffusing wealth and dividing it among heirs For T., this is a major cause for the then relative equality of wealth in the United States as compared to Europe

Politics and Equality “Equality ends up by infiltrating the world of politics as it does everywhere else.” (66-67) Two kinds of political equality: All have equal rights No one has any Americans have chosen the former Women? Slaves?

Popular Sovereignty At the time of the Revolution, equality was so ingrained in American society that there was no thought of instituting an aristocracy Any remaining “The people reign in the American political world like God over the universe. It is the cause and aim of all things, everything comes from them and everything is absorbed in them.” (71)

Bottom-Up Gov’t In America, township  state  federal gov’t (71) Man it is that makes monarchies and founds republics; the township seems a direct gift from the hand of God. But if the town has existed as long as man has, its freedom is uncommon and easily broken The US is remarkable for the amount of power allowed municipal & local gov’ts

“The strength of free nations resides in the township “The strength of free nations resides in the township. Tow institutions are to freedom what primary schools are to knowledge: they bring it within people’s reach and give men the enjoyment and habit of using it for peaceful ends. Without town institutions a nation can establish a free government but has not the spirit of freedom itself.” (73) Town gov’t trains individuals in self-gov’t, ownership of and active participation in it Democracy as a way of being NE towns best at this This also makes Americans unbearably touchy about criticism from foreigners: it is a criticism of their own creation (277)

Centralization Two kinds (103): Governmental: national issues (national law, war, foreign relations) For T., this is very important to accomplish. The nation may speak with one voice. (104) Administrative: Zoning, construction, local issues For T, this is bad. It diminishes the sense that individuals govern themselves, reducing civic pride. (104) America has highly centralized its government, but has a decentralized administration (103)

A central gov’t may administer more efficiently & wisely, but it detracts from a nation’s democratic spirit (107) “Men must walk in freedom, responsible for their own behavior.” (108) The advantages Americans get from decentralized administration are political, while in France “Subjects still exist but citizens are no more. (110, 111)

Force of Ideas “You will never come across true exercise of power among men, except by the free agreement of their wills; only patriotism or religion can carry, over a long period, the whole body of citizens toward the same goal.” (111) Decentralization of administration results in heightened patriotism, and forms a check against a potentially tyrannical central gov’t The habit of freedom (114)

Democratic Government Democratic government is corrupt, sloppy, wasteful, and prone to error, while aristocratic government is wise and efficient However, democracy moves slowly toward the benefit of the many, while aristocracy moves swiftly to benefit the few (271-272) Democratic officials “are often inferior in capability and in moral standards to those an aristocracy would bring to power, but their interests” are generally those of their fellow citizens.

Self-Interest American respect both rights and property because they all have both “In America, the proletariat does not exist. Since each man has some private possessions to protect, he acknowledges the right, in principle, to own property.” (278) Thus, they support political and property rights because it is in their interest to do so (279)

Self-Interest “Do you not see the decline of religions? [...] Do you not notice how, on all sides, beliefs are ceding place to rationality and feelings to calculations? If, amid this general upheaval, you fail to link the idea of rights to individual self-interest, which is the only fixed point in the human heart, what else have you got to rule the world except fear?” (279)

Social Outcomes of Democracy Democracy does not make people great, saintly or noble, but its equality does does cause them to be law-abiding, practical, rational, and prosperous, all while minimizing suffering. (286-287)

Perils of Popular Sovereignty In America, the majority “possesses immense actual power and a power of opinion almost as great; and when it has made up its mind over a question, there are, so to speak, no obstacles which might, I will not say halt, but even retard its onward course long enough to allow it time to heed the complaints of those it crushes as it goes by. The consequences of this state of affairs are dire and dangerous for the future. (290)

Legislative Power & Instability Frequent elections exacerbate the legislative instability inherent in democracies “Since the only authority one wishes to please is the majority, all its projects are supported with enthusiasm; but as soon as its attention is drawn elsewhere, all efforts come to an end” (291)

Tyranny of the Majority The majority thinks itself both the source of law and above the law, a tyrant (295, fn. 4) “My main complaint against a democratic government as organized in the United States in not in its weakness, [...] but in its inexorable strength. (294)

Tyranny Over Thought “The slightest reproach [of the majority] offends it, the smallest sharp truth stimulates its angry response and it must be praised from the style of its language to its more solid virtues. No writer, however famous, can escape from this obligation to praise his fellow citizens. The majority lives therefore in an everlasting self-adoration.” (299)

The “Courtier Spirit” Courtiers shamelessly flatter the king, in a democracy, the people are sovereign. Thus, “Democratic republics place the spirit of teh court within the reach of a great number of citizens and allow it to spread through all social classes at once. This is one of the most serious criticisms that can be made against them.” (301) Breeds hypocrisy, as individuals praise “the people” in public, but criticize them in private (302)

Barriers to Tyranny Lawyers & judges Respect for precedent makes them inherently conservative, respectful of the past Orderly spirit Aristocratic leaning (love of the past & tradition) Judges, being having permanent office, grow to love stability

“When the American people become intoxicated by their enthusiasms or carried away by them, lawyers supply an almost invisible brake to slow them down.” (313) Judges also Constitutional review Lifetime appointment Election of judges will have “disastrous results, and it will be seen that an attack has been directed against not only the power of judges but against the democratic republic itself.” (314)

Juries “One must make a distinction between the jury as a judicial institution and as a political one.” (315) Institutions have unintended social outcomes “I do not know whether juries are much use to litigants but I am sure that they are are of great use to those who judge the case. They are, in my view, one of the most effective means available to society for educating the people.” (321) To exercise judgment in the application of law & power