Oliver Herndon – Page 5 – American Society and Culture

“Social Condition of the Anglo-Americans” Expository

Tocqueville begins this section by underscoring how important a people’s social condition is to the development of their society. He then goes on to elaborately describe the social condition of America during its development, what traits were embued then, and how those traits are evermore present in the current day (1835 of course.)

The fact that America has a democratic society is paramount and serves as the justification for all of his claims about the characteristics of the American people. The most significant “foot in the door” for democracy is the nature of the U.S’s inheritance laws. Tocqueville explains that the law of primogeniture (land passed down to eldest son) encourages the development of large landed estates and eventually aristocracy. America’s inheritance law, that property be split equally between children, serves two practical functions that are essential to the development of democracy. Firstly, they prevent the development of massive estates and the emergence of a landed elite class, and secondly, they affect the minds of people with family by severing the intimate tie between family and estate. Both of these systems are self-perpetuating and quickly become unstoppable, and America has chosen the one that inevitably lead to a democracy, the likes of which the world has never seen.

What I believe is most significant about this expert is probably 100 different things. I am referring specifically to Tocqueville’s multitudinous characteristics of the American people. Almost all of his quotes are directly relevant to the political dialogue of today, and each is so significant I bet you could devote a lecture series or a whole class to it. I am going to place some examples of this below.

“But wealth circulates with inconceivable rapidity, and experience shows that it is rare to find two succeeding generations in the full enjoyment of it.”

“It is not only the fortunes of men that are equal in America; even their acquirements partake in some degree of the same uniformity.”

“In America most of the rich men were formerly poor; most of those who now enjoy leisure were absorbed in business during their youth; the consequence of this is that when they might have had a taste for study, they had no time for it, and when the time is at their disposal, they have no longer the inclination.”

“This passion tends to elevate the humble to the rank of the great; but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom.”

There are dozens more I could have chosen, and keep in mind this excerpt is but one or two pages in a 900+ page book. Tocqueville has something to say about every conceivable element of American politics and politics/society/humanity generally, and I believe that most of the time, he is correct.

My Experience with Democracy in America so far…

Upon receiving the syllabus for this class, I was very excited to learn that we would be reading selections from Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. I have been reading this book on and off since January of 2019 and I am about 300 pages in. So far it is one of the greatest books I have ever read. The first selection we were assigned is a good example of the task that Tocqueville completes thousands of times over. I am certain that any page of his book could be the topic of a lecture or class discussion because of the richness of the content he provides.

The assigned selection exemplifies how Tocqueville formulates his position on a subject regarding society that is congruent across all levels. What I mean by that is he starts at the most foundational level of human existence, then builds his way up to how a society organizes its government. At every level, he presents alternatives and analyzes their ramifications.

Tocqueville begins by analyzing the human condition, demonstrating a profound and accurate understanding of how man thinks, what distinguishes man from beasts, and the motivating forces behind the human spirit. Analysis of this foundational idea is coupled with an attempt to understand another foundational human idea: perfection. Societies, religions, and philosophical schools of thought have been analyzing perfection: its possibility, its actualization in the real world, its origins, and so on for all of human history, and Tocqueville flawlessly takes a position and smoothly incorporates the idea into his argument.

Keep in mind, the passage concludes by comparing the ramifications of both a democratic government and an aristocratic government for the people living within the society. Each new idea or example or piece of evidence the author presents builds on an understanding of the ‘first principles’ articulated at the start. In my opinion, this is the genius of Tocqueville. As a Political Science major and as someone who is interested in studying government, society and the human condition, almost everything I have read from him so far has blown my mind. In my own studies, I have ran across academics and pundits who can make an argument that is cohesive from the bottom to the top; they go from a description of reality to a public policy prescription. I personally strive to be able to do this successfully too. But few thinkers I have come across have even come close to Alexis De Tocqueville. The fact that we are still studying his work 180+ years later is completely justified.