Alyssa Sirocchi
History 100
March 9, 2012
De Tocqueville’s Thoughts On Democracy
De Tocqueville had various thoughts about democracy in America. According to De
Tocqueville democracy has positive and negative aspects. Most Americans think that democracy
is the greatest government, but they often ignore the terrible things about it. De Tocqueville
supported democracy because of the power of the majority, patriotism, morality, and the equality
of conditions. He opposed democracy because of tyranny of the majority, power of the majority,
and despotism. Although De Tocqueville disagreed with democracy because of despotism and
tyranny of the majority, he viewed it to have more positive aspects than negative.
Many Americans assume that democracy is always positive, but it has negative aspects
too. Likewise, throughout De Tocqueville’s journey he found a variety of appalling things about
democracy. First was despotism of the majority, which can be defined as the absolute power of
control of a society. He stated that “The ever-growing despotism of the majority in the United
States is the reason for the small number of great men who appear today on the political scene”
(78). This quote explains how the absolute power or control of the majority in the United States
is why there are few men in the political scene. There were fewer men under the complete
control of a ruler, but during the American Revolution there were many men in the political
scene. Under despotism there are only a small group of people that speak for the majority, but
during the American Revolution there were even more people.
There are many reasons why the power of the majority can be negative in democracy.
First, the power of the majority can turn into tyranny. This can happen because the majority of
the people can overpower the minority which can then lead into tyranny. In the United State we
have restrictions and policies to prevent tyranny. Some examples are checks and balances, the
Bill of Rights, and the separation of powers. These systems are used to help prevent the
government from turning in tyranny. An example of the power of majority turning into tyranny is
when De Tocqueville said, “Public opinion is an invisible power and one that is almost
impossible to grasp; it has a role in every tyranny” (76). This quote explained how the decision
of the majority can overrule the decision of the citizens and the minority and this can result in
tyranny of the majority. As his journey continued, he realized that the democratic government in
the United States had very few protections against tyranny. He said people who have suffered
injustice in the United States have no one to turn to because everything represents the majority
and they all have similar opinions (74-75). The majority can make laws and the people must
obey them without questions, and this disturbed De Tocqueville as he said, “I am not saying that
at present acts of tyranny occur frequently in America, but I am saying that there is no guarantee
against it there, and that the basis for goodness in government is not found in laws but in mores
and circumstances” (75). Basically, De Tocqueville said there are no acts of tyranny in America,
however Tyranny can still happen. Even though America has a strong government and laws
under certain circumstances, tyranny could still develop happen on its own.
Tyranny is another negative aspect of democracy and De Tocqueville stated, “Under the
absolute government of a single ruler, despotism attacked the spirit by attacking the body; ……
this is not how tyranny proceeds; it leaves the body alone and goes straight for the spirit” (77). In
this quote, he is talking about two things: tyranny and despotism. He said that both of these gets
rid of all of the freedom’s one has and one will no longer be respected by other citizens. Both
tyranny and despotism are horrible, but this quote talked about how tyranny is much worse.
Despotism is tyranny of a small body of people, where as tyranny is one person under the
absolute power or control. Having one person with all the control is much worse than having a
small group of people under complete control. One person with complete control is frowned
upon because there are not other opinions to be generated. Also, whatever the person with
complete controls wants they did because there is no one else to argue with. De Tocqueville
opposed the tyranny of the majority, and he said it was the greatest threat to liberty in
democracy. This means that the majority of people are a threat to the citizen’s freedoms in
democracy. Under Tyranny, the majority of people have no freedoms and they must obey every
rule. Their opinion is hard to change because the majority represents a large group of people that
speaks for everyone, and once their opinion is formed it is hard to change. This is a negative
aspect for democracy because once the large group is set on what they believe in there is no
changing their decision.
There are numerous reasons why democracy is a great government for the United States.
According to De Tocqueville, the power of the majority is a positive aspect for democracy as he
stated, “The moral superiority of the majority is based in part on the idea that there is more
wisdom and talent in an assembly of men than in a single individual, that the number of
legislators matters more than the choice” (70). Here, De Tocqueville said there is more wisdom
in a group of people rather than a single individual. If there are more people to discuss different
topics, then there are more opinions that can be generated. For example, when there is a trial in a
courtroom the judge turns to the jury for the final verdict of the crime. Since there are a group of
jurors, there are more opinions that can be made about the topic. In the end, the final decision is
based on the majority, so the power of the majority is crucial to have in a democracy. The
number of people involved in making the law is more important than the final decision. The
power of the majority is positive for democracy because it shows that people have a say in the
final result.
Patriotism was another important concept of democracy as De Tocqueville noted. He
stated, “He is accustomed to considering prosperity as his own responsibility. He sees in the
public good his own benefit and he works for the good of the States, not only from duty or pride,
but also from what I would boldly call greed” (65). De Tocqueville said that people are going to
be prosperous or want to have success on their own because of greed. People not only work from
duty or pride, but they work from wanting excessive success from working. Patriotism is
essential to have in democracy because it shows that people have pride in their country and they
appreciate it. For example, in America we have the fourth of July to appreciate the independence
that we have. Many Americans put American flags in their lawn to show the pride they have for
their country. Also, there are many festivals and parties to honor the freedom and independence
that we have.
The equality of conditions is an important positive aspect to have in democracy. It was
the “most striking” topic that De Tocqueville found throughout his journey in America. This was
the most prominent theme throughout the book and it was one of the main reasons why he
supported democracy. The equality of conditions is crucial in democracy because it shows that
everyone is equal to one another. According to De Tocqueville, people who lived in equality are
more independent and they do what they want (161). Also, under equality people notice the love
of independence more, so they do not need to depend on others. Citizens fear having anarchy in a
democratic society the most. Anarchy can be defined as a state or a society without government
or law. Having no government or law would create chaos because everyone is equal to one
another and there is no one in charge. If there was no authority to be in charge of the citizens,
then no one would follow the rules. De Tocqueville said that equality resulted in two trends:
“one leads men directly to independence and can lead abruptly to anarchy; the other leads them
by a longer, hidden, and more certain route to servitude” (162). He is saying that equality led
people towards independence which led to anarchy. Also, equality can lead to servitude which
can be defined as being dominated by a person or thing. De Tocqueville stated, “Conditions of
equality alone do not produce uniformity of morals; yet there can be no doubt that it contributes
to and strengthens morality” (146). Here, he is talking about how equality does not produce the
same morals for everyone, but it strengthens morality. This means that just because everyone is
equal to one another does not mean that they have the same morals.
According to De Tocqueville morality was another positive aspect to have in democracy.
Morality is important because it shows that people know what is right from wrong, and they are
able to make smart decisions based on their morals. De Tocqueville said that “women create
morality and anything that contributes to the condition of woman, their habits and opinions,
seems to me to have great political significance” (140). This means that women have great
morals and their opinions are worthy to everyone. Anything that is related to women is important
because they play a big part to society and they are politically significant. American women have
more morals than European women when it comes to marriage. American women spend the time
to get to know their husband while European women choose any random guy to marry. The
American women know what is expected of them before marriage, so they take the duties and
responsibilities as a wife with pride. De Tocqueville thought that morality was looser in an
aristocratic society rather than in a democratic society. For example, he said that women in
democratic societies had more freedoms, a better education, women were more mature, and the
marriage was better. The women in a democratic society had the freedoms to choose their own
husband and they were not judged by the public. In an aristocratic society there was less equality
which led to immoral behavior which led to less morality. Also, since the women randomly
chose their husbands, they were judged by the public. The public formed their own opinions
about the marriage and the women were looked down upon by the public. De Tocqueville stated,
“…They find themselves outcasts among their friends and relations; the prejudice that they
defied separates them. It is not long before their courage fails and their hearts grow bitter” (147).
This explained how European women are treated as outcasts by other people because they chose
their husband poorly and they are “socially unequal.” Also, all the prejudice from the public
separated them from everyone and they were treated like outcasts in society. The women would
no longer have compassion or want to be in the marriage anymore, and they would become
angrier as the marriage continues. De Tocqueville said that religion shapes morality.
The final positive aspect of democracy is morality due to religion. He stated, “So we
cannot say that in the United States religion influences laws or aspects of political opinion, but it
does guide morality and, by regulating family life, it helps regulate the state” (85). De
Tocqueville explained that in the United States religion influenced the laws and political opinion
and it shaped morality by controlling family and the state. For example, in the United States they
have a strict morality which is the result of faith, and religion is powerless to men to help resist
them from temptations (85). He states, “It is incapable of moderating the desire for wealth that
everything arouses in him, but it reigns supreme in the souls of women, and women shape
morality” (85). Religion was not capable of pleasing men but it made women more moral.
Religion due to morality is important to have in Democracy because the more religious someone
is, the more likely they will be morally sound. They are less morally sound when they are less
religious because religion guides toward greater morality.
Given these points, equality of conditions is the most important topic to De Tocqueville
in democracy in America. He supported democracy due to power of the majority, patriotism,
morality, and equality of conditions. He opposed democracy because of despotism, power of the
majority, and tyranny of the majority. Even though there are reasons why De Tocqueville
disapproved democracy, there were more reasons why he approved of it. Although the United
States has checks and balances, the Bills of Rights, and the separation of powers to prevent
tyranny, De Tocqueville still thinks it is possible for tyranny to just happen on its own. Overall
democracy has more positive aspects than negative aspects, and it is more superior then other
governments in the world.