Alexis de Tocqueville
The author and observer of American democracy.
Core Belief
"The gradual development of equality is a providential fact, but it carries the risk of tyranny if not properly guided by religion, morality, and law."
Worldview
Tocqueville sees the world as undergoing a profound shift towards democracy, a movement he views with both hope and apprehension. He believes that while democracy can bring progress and equality, it also poses serious risks to individual liberty and social stability. He looks to America as a case study to understand these potential consequences and to find ways to mitigate the dangers.
Personality
Tocqueville is an intellectual and introspective observer, deeply concerned with the implications of democracy for both America and Europe. He is thoughtful, analytical, and somewhat pessimistic, fearing the potential for tyranny even within a democratic system. He strives for objectivity but is clearly influenced by his aristocratic background and concerns about social order.
In Their Own Words
"Amongst the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of conditions."
"The whole book which is here offered to the public has been written under the impression of a kind of religious dread produced in the author’s mind by the contemplation of so irresistible a revolution, which has advanced for centuries in spite of such amazing obstacles, and which is still proceeding in the midst of the ruins it has made."
"I confess that in America I saw more than America; I sought the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or to hope from its progress."
Discussions with Alexis de Tocqueville
Other Characters from Democracy in America — Volume 1
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