Democracy in America

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer. Washington D.C.: Library of America, 2004. 928 p., $28.10.

Upon returning to the United States two months ago, I decided to take a deeper look at the founding of our democratic institutions. And so, I started with Tocqueville's masterpiece, a two volume investigation into the social, political, and institutional foundations of America circa 1835. Drawing upon his extensive travels throughout the United States, Tocqueville describes the actual functioning of democracy in America to a European audience. He notes with approval the decentralizing aspects of the Constitution and grapples with the challenges of liberty in an age of equality. Tocqueville was particularly interested in America's passion for capitalism and its dominant role in regulating relationships, rather than castes and aristocratic privileges. Tocqueville's overall report is methodical, penetrating, and generally positive about the future of America. Although he approaches the subject with the rigor of a political scientist, the author invests himself in the implications of his work. The end result is one of the best analyses of early American democracy I have ever read.

This specific translation by Arthur Goldhammer is excellent. Translating French to English is always rather problemmatic but Goldhammer has done an excellent job of preserving the author's voice throughout while presenting the ideas clearly and without any archaic twists. I found myself constantly marking pages for later review and ultimately wrote down a number of my most favorite quotes.

As an outside observer, Tocqueville proceeds with his study like an anthropologist on an extensive case study. Such a tone is particularly alluring because the subject matter is my own cultural heritage. Why do Americans put so much emphasis on the individual? Why did I come from a village, in a township, in a county, in a state, in a country? Why is religion, independence, and equality so tied up in our institutions and cultural norms? I found that I could understand my own country better by looking through the perceptive eyes of Tocqueville.

To be sure, Tocqueville does not get everything right about the US. He was perhaps overly concerned with the seeming decline in 19th century puritan religion, the possibility of a violent black uprising in the South (it was after all a violent white uprising in the south that led to the Civil War), and the dangers of centralization. But what is most striking for me is how many things he did get right. Consider this observation of the two political parties of the time, the Republicans and Democrats: "The more deeply one enters into the intimate thoughts of these two parties, the clearer it becomes that one wants to limit the use of public power and the other to extend it" (p. 202). That is perhaps the clearest and most succinct description of modern parties that I have heard, and it was written 180 years ago. Other perspectives on federalism, the social implications of capitalism (Tocqueville effectively preempts Robert Putnam on the concept of social capital and its role in American society), and the US judicial system are also particularly prescient.

I highly recommend this book, though those pressed for time can safely skip the more abstract second volume. The volume is an impressive reminder of just how unique the American experiment is in the history of the world and is a valuable refresher course in the founding principles of American democracy.