We’ve read a nice chunk of Tocqueville from _Democracy in America_ on the American ‘personality,’ American culture, American social relations, and the promise and problems of American society as T. saw them 150 years ago.
Using the readings, respond to the statement in bold below. You may take any position on it you like; just be sure that you make a case for your position based on the readings.
Alexis de Tocqueville’s analysis of American culture and society is perhaps interesting as a kind of museum piece, or as part of intellectual history. That said, though, too much time has passed since he wrote and too much is too different now in America to permit his writing to help us productively think about how to address contemporary problems in American society.