POLSCI 3VV3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Alexis De Tocqueville, Jacksonian Democracy
6 Feb 2018
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Tocqueville is writing as someone who represents the old social order in an attempt to understand democracy as a complete social regime. First volume: 1835 (happier), second volume: 1840 (more problems). Describe how tocqueville represents things that allow democracy to work without having destructive effects. Law and the prevalence of law, lawyers, and rights. These things are all different in the united states than they are in europe/ Tocqueville is one of the first to see democracy as equality. The question of democracy for tocqueville: how will freedom survive equality, because equality is always going to be increasing. This answer is optimistic it hedges on a number of institutions. Theme to look for: talking about the difference between old societies and new societies. What tocqueville is looking at through a sociological lens, is the institutions americans have devised in order to get people to maintain their own freedom against the veil of democratic equality.
