What did de Tocqueville say about American society?
He admired American individualism but warned that a society of individuals can easily become atomized and paradoxically uniform when “every citizen, being assimilated to all the rest, is lost in the crowd.” He felt that a society of individuals lacked the intermediate social structures—such as those provided by …
What did Tocqueville say was the key to democracy?
He thought that a vibrant religious life was essential to the preservation and prosperity of a free democratic society. Tocqueville thought that religion (and he was favorable to almost any kind of religion) was essential to democracy for many reasons.
What French writer Alexis de Tocqueville meant when he described volunteerism as self interest rightly understood?
According to Tocqueville, what did “self-interest rightly understood” mean? People should help one another because the welfare of others affects individual welfare.
What was de Tocqueville’s main concern?
The greatest danger Tocqueville saw was that public opinion would become an all-powerful force, and that the majority could tyrannize unpopular minorities and marginal individuals.
What aspect of American society is most striking to Tocqueville?
But for Tocqueville the most striking condition of American society was equality.
What does De Tocqueville see as the danger of a democratic society?
De Tocqueville, however, saw another even more disturbing threat to American democracy. He feared that American citizens would become so satisfied with being equal to one another that they would abandon their deep interest and involvement in self-government. Americans would end up having equality through slavery.
What did Tocqueville mean by self-interest rightly understood?
He noted that Americans voluntarily join together in associations to further the interests of the group and, thereby, to serve their own interests. Using “self-Interest rightly understood” (Tocqueville 1835) to describe this concept, he combined the right of association with the virtue to do what was right.
Why Enlightened self-interest is important?
Enlightened self-interest increases company value by securing and maintaining market share, attracting and retaining a skilled workforce and ensuring that natural resources and raw materials are available for the future.
What was Tocqueville’s concern with individualism?
Tocqueville had many concerns with democracy in American, but his main issue with individualism was that it would create too much unrest and disputes among citizens. Explanation: Alexis de Tocqueville was a French sociologist and executive scholar who moved to the United States in 1831 to study life in America.
What is Alexis de Tocqueville most famous for?
Introduction. Alexis de Tocqueville is best known for Democracy in America, which he wrote after spending 10 months of 1831 and 1832 in the United States on a mission from France to study American prisons (then considered progressive).