Summary: Democracy in America (page 2)

The political situation in the American West is particularly unprecedented: The new western states already have inhabitants, but society has yet to emerge ¹.

Various factors thus combined to establish de facto equality in American society, both in wealth and intellect. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were few ignoramuses and few scholars, as primary education was available to all, while secondary education remained largely inaccessible.

The principle of popular sovereignty in America is upheld by customs and enshrined in law. The people govern at all four levels of American political society: the commune, the county, the state, and the Union.

Americans, more than any other people, turn to private associations—an alternative to political bonds and the State. The American maintains a certain distrust of the State—perhaps owing to his origins as an outcast or immigrant, at odds with the government of his homeland. He casts a wary and apprehensive gaze upon social authority, invoking its power only when absolutely necessary ².

Later, Tocqueville sums up this American distrust of public power—fundamental to the liberalism of American society—as follows: In the eyes of democracy, government is not a blessing; it is a necessary evil.

These private associations pursue various objectives (temperance leagues opposing alcohol consumption, for example):

In the United States, people form associations for public safety, commerce, industry, morality, and religion. There is nothing the human will considers beyond reach through the free action of collective individual power ³.

This multitude of associations serves as a salutary counterbalance to the tyranny of the majority. When a political party becomes dominant, all public power falls into its hands. Associations, acting as a check on this dominance, are therefore highly beneficial.

Tocqueville, however, highlights the risk these associations may pose to democracy: might they not bring the weight of the group to bear on the individual? It must be remembered that the role of associations is to guide opinions, not to impose them; to advise lawmakers, not to legislate ⁴.

In America, freedom of association is unrestricted, which risks anarchy, yet prevents the emergence of secret societies: In America, there are factions, but no conspirators ⁵.

In general, American politicians are mediocre. This is a consequence of universal suffrage, which leads ignorant voters to favour charismatic charlatans or, out of envy, to reject men who, by virtue of their wealth, have had access to a good education.

Thus, the crudeness of the members of the House of Representatives in Washington astonishes European visitors. They are mostly small-town lawyers or shopkeepers, some of whom are barely literate. By contrast, the members of the Senate, elected through indirect universal suffrage, are drawn from higher, better-educated social strata. They include lawyers, generals, and statesmen.

Democracy rests on the principle of majority rule. A law is passed because the majority of voters have chosen a particular party. This is grounded in a particular view of intelligence:

The moral authority of the majority is partly based on the idea that there is more enlightenment and wisdom in the collective judgment of many than in the insight of a single individual, and that strength lies in the number of legislators rather than in how they are chosen ⁶.

In other words, it is the theory of equality applied to intellect ⁷.

As a consequence, the majority wields absolute power in a democracy: In the United States, the majority wields immense factual power and an almost equally great power of opinion, encountering virtually no obstacles to slow its advance or give it time to heed the complaints of those it crushes along the way ⁸.

¹ I, p.101
² I, p.287
³ I, p.288
⁴ I, p.290
⁵ I, p.293
⁶ I, p.370
⁷ I, ibid.
⁸ I, p.372