He believed that democracy was inevitable and efforts to stop it amounted to a fight against God (1969: 12). When Tocqueville used the word “democracy,” he was referencing both the political form of the government and the resulting social state (Tocqueville 1990: 4). On the basis of this comparative analysis, he felt that the conditions of democracy and equality in a society are important to understanding its democratic tendencies. and found applicable examples of equality in American associations, their understanding of individualism, and the participatory nature of the citizens. Conversely, he observed the events unfolding in the U.S. Thus, equality and tyranny would be concepts in opposition to one another. The character of the revolution was, therefore, both republican and central. He explained that the French Revolution was designed to stand against royalty and provincial institutions. He aruged that equality progresses slowly, and this progress cannot be controlled by humans (1969: 12). Tocqueville understood equality as a social and political idea. He generally related liberty to decentralisation, participation, and local self-governance, and used these concepts when evaluating various nations’ democratic experiences.
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He did not consider liberty to be “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority and pursuing self-pleasure.” According to him, this form of liberty was evil and belonged only to animals. Tocqueville believed that genuine liberty could be achieved by way of subjection to authority. Finally, I analyze the impact of his thoughts on today’s international security and atmosphere of stability.ġ.Tocqueville’s Understanding of Liberty, Equality, and Democracy Then, I discuss his solutions and the various alternatives available for avoiding dangerous democratic tendencies. Second, I describe Tocqueville’s warnings regarding the path to despotism in new democracies.
To achieve this, I first consider Tocqueville’s understanding of liberty, equality, and democracy. This study clarifies the concept of democratic despotism through an analysis of Tocqueville’s observations and a discussion of their impact on international security and stability. in the 1830’s allowed him to devleop his theories on and fully understand the applicability of democracy. As a nobleman, he had the direct experience and intellectual capacity necessary to properly evaluate the effects of the revolution occuring in Europe. His concept of “democratic despotism” was born from his comparative analysis of the United States (U.S.) and Europe.
His warnings about and solutions to despotic attempts at ruling democracies shine a light on the dangerous tendencies of certain governing practices. This is why the philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville continues to be important today. Perhaps such rulers can control pessimistic and hopeless people for a while, but the unavoidable end awaits, as it did for despots in the past. If you silence the media, defraud democratic elections, block all kinds of opposition, and undermine the law, your system cannot be labeled a democracy. However, the definition of democracy does not change according to the ruler.
Today, the leaders of Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Pakistan, and many other nations use the word “democracy” to define their governing methods. They use the label of democracy to remain popular and obscure their anti-democratic practices.
However, despots prefer to be seen as democrats. Controlling pessimistic people and giving them orders is easy for despots. Some prefer anti-democratic ways of governing, keeping their people frightened and hopeless. It is difficult for rulers to govern healthy individuals. It is at this point that democracy’s drift can be observed. Educated and confident citizens elect representatives in the hopes that they will protect democratic values and encourage stability and peace. People have the freedom to choose in democratic societies. If rulers establish this equilibrium, the people are provided with a secure and peaceful atmosphere in which to live. “Only God can be omnipotent (all-powerful) without danger because His wisdom and justice are always equal to His power.So, there is no power on earth in itself so worthy of respect or vested with such a sacred right that I would wish to let it act without control and dominate without obstacles” (Tocqueville 1969: 252).ĭemocracy is a revolutionary system because it regularizes the relationship between power and the community’s needs.
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