French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville was born July 29, 1805 in Paris in a noble family. His great-grandfather was a prominent monarchist who defended the Louis XVI Convention and died during the Great Revolution. The family did everything to ensure that Alexis received a quality humanitarian education. In his youth, having a judicial position at Versailles, he did not practice law practice for long. However, much more than Tocqueville was interested in the socio-political sphere, where he went at the first opportunity.
The thinker's views
Unlike his grandfather and father, Alexis de Tocqueville, whose biography is an example of a man who confidently set aside democratic ideals all his life, was far from a monarchist. His concept of an ideal state was formed thanks to a close acquaintance with the then little understood by US Europeans.
Tocqueville appeared in America in 1831. He went overseas as part of a business trip in which he was supposed to study the penitentiary system of the United States. Also, Alexis de Tocqueville, whose era in Europe would have been different if not for the example of light-loving Americans, wanted to get to know the true democracy of the former English colonies.
Trip to the USA
The Frenchman went to America with his friend Gustave de Beaumont. Over the ocean, they spent nine months. All this time, comrades traveled to various cities, communicated with the local intelligentsia, and gained impressions about the life and structure of an unfamiliar society.
In that 1831, the US President was Democrat Andrew Jackson. Tocqueville was lucky - he ended up in a country experiencing important systemic changes for himself. Thirteen states joined the federal union of eleven. Two of them (Missouri and Louisiana) were already located beyond the great Mississippi River. The French guest was able to see firsthand the massive colonization of the western lands, which sought adventurers and a new homeland.
In 1831, the US population was 13 million and continued to grow rapidly. More and more people left the eastern states and moved to the western. The reason for this was the development of capitalism. Eastern industrial areas were characterized by poor working conditions in factories, frequent unemployment, and housing problems. Alexis de Tocqueville spent most of his time in New England. He also visited the Great Lakes, looked into Canada, Tennessee, Ohio, New Orleans. The Frenchman traveled to Washington, where he was able to familiarize himself in detail with the principles of the federal government.
Tocqueville met and met many influential and famous Americans: Andrew Jackson, Albert Gallaten, John Quincy Adams, Jerid Sparks and Francis Liber. Short conversations with the traveler were with representatives of all walks of life. Tocqueville and Beaumont asked the Americans countless questions. Their letters to friends and relatives testify to the careful preparation of these conversations.
"Democracy in America"
Tocqueville's journey to the United States has borne fruit - the book Democracy in America. The composition was a success not only in France, but throughout Europe. Soon he was transferred to a dozen foreign languages. The main outstanding features of the book were the author's impartial attitude to his subject, his insight and depth of knowledge of the topic, as well as the abundance of unique material collected. Alexis de Tocqueville, whose "Democracy in America" has not lost its relevance today, thanks to it was deservedly ranked among the host of the best political theorists of the XIX century.
In his book, the writer compared the political system of the United States and France. As a public figure and future member of parliament, he wanted to transfer to his native country all the best of American experience. Tocqueville saw the foundation of democracy in the traditions of the Puritans who stood at the origins of the colonies in the New World. The main advantage of American society, he considered equality of opportunity for all residents of the country.
The concept of an ideal state
The researcher contrasted the French over-centralization of overseas decentralization (being a consistent supporter of the latter). It was thanks to her, the thinker believed, that in the United States there were no huge cities, excessive fortunes, and striking poverty. Equal opportunities smoothed out social conflicts and helped to avoid a revolution. Interestingly, Tocqueville opposed America not only France, but also Russia, which he considered the stronghold of destructive autocracy.
Federalism was another sign of an ideal state, Alexis de Tocqueville believed. "Democracy in America," however, not only praised democracy, but also emphasized its shortcomings. It was Tocqueville who became the author of the famous statement “tyranny of the majority”. With this phrase, the author determined the order in which the masses of power could ineffectively use it or even delegate their authority to a tyrant.
The French thinker came to the conclusion that the guarantee of all freedoms is freedom of choice, and the constitutional order is necessary in the first place to limit and contain the state. He also had conflicting statements. So, Tocqueville believed that in a society of triumphant equality there is no place for art. "Democracy in America" was read by Alexander Pushkin. The Russian poet was deeply impressed by her, as he said in one of his letters to Chaadaev.
The beginning of a political career
After the publication of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville went to England, where his book was especially popular. The writer was waiting for the warmest reception of the reading public. In 1841, the thinker became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. He was also elected a deputy, although his position in the chamber was not distinguished by something outstanding.
Not having become a parliamentary leader despite his rare political mind, Alexis de Tocqueville almost did not go to the rostrum, but mainly worked in different commissions. He did not belong to any party, although he mainly voted from the left and often opposed the conservative prime minister, François Guizot.
Alexis de Tocqueville regularly criticized the government for its policies that did not take into account the interests of all sectors of society. In his rare speeches, the politician spoke of the inevitability of a revolution. It really happened in 1848. Although Tocqueville was a supporter of the constitutional monarchy, he recognized the new republic, considering it, under the circumstances, the only way to preserve civil liberties.
French Foreign Minister
After the revolution of 1848, Alexis de Tocqueville was elected to the Constituent Assembly. In it, he joined the right and began to fight with the socialists. The thinker was especially stubborn in defending property rights. The attacks on him by the socialists, Tocqueville believed, could lead to an encroachment on the freedoms of the inhabitants of the country and an excessive expansion of state functions. Fearing despotism, he advocated restricting presidential power, establishing a bicameral parliament, etc. None of these proposals were put into practice.
In 1849, Alexis de Tocqueville, whose biography, as a politician, was transient, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Odilon Barro. The head of the diplomatic department saw his main task in maintaining French influence in neighboring Italy. Just then, on the Apennine Peninsula, the long process of creating a single state was ending. In this regard, a conflict broke out between the Catholic Church and the secular authorities of the new Italy.
Alexis de Tocqueville, whose main ideas were to preserve the independent authority of the pope, tried to achieve smooth internal reforms in the Papal region. He did not succeed in achieving this, since just a few months after the beginning of the work of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the entire Cabinet of Barro resigned due to another political scandal connected with the president’s letter to Her.
Cessation of public activities
On December 2, 1851, another coup d'etat took place in France. President Louis Napoleon dissolved parliament and received almost monarchical powers. A year later, the republic was canceled, and instead it was announced the creation of the Second Empire. Alexis de Tocqueville, whose reports and publications just warned of the danger of such a turn of events, was in the ranks of the latter who resisted the new state system. For disobedience to the authorities, he was sent to Vincennes prison. Soon Tocqueville was released, but he was finally torn from political activity.
The writer took advantage of the free time that had fallen on him and engaged in a historical study of the events of the great revolution of the late XVIII century. The December 2 coup reminded him of the 18 Brumaire coup, as a result of which Napoleon once gained unlimited power. In this situation, the thinker blamed the wrong political system, under which people unaccustomed to using political freedoms received equal rights, including electoral rights.
“Old Order and Revolution”
After several years of work in 1856, Tocqueville published the first volume of the book Old Order and Revolution, which ultimately became his second most important work (after Democracy in America). The book was supposed to consist of three parts, but death stopped the writer during his work on the second of them.
The main object of study of Tocqueville was the freedom of the individual. He considered saving and correct the principle of non-interference of the state in the economy. The Thinker did not see popular freedom without centuries of enlightenment and education of people. Without it, no constitutional institutions will work, the author considered. For the reader, he traced the validity of this principle on the example of the very Great Revolution in France at the end of the 18th century.
Alexis de Tocqueville, whose clever phrases are still used in journalism, journalism or textbooks, considered freedom and equality to be the basis of democracy. At the same time, peoples are more eager for the second than for the first. Many people, Tocqueville noted, are even ready to sacrifice freedom for the sake of equality. With such moods, conditions arise for the establishment of despotism. Equality can separate people, develop egoism and particularism in them. All this was noted in his book by Alexis de Tocqueville.
The work “The Old Order and the Revolution” also included considerations about society’s passion for profit. Accustomed to consume people are ready to give the government all new powers only in order to keep them calm, orderly and their usual way of life. So the power of the state penetrates deeper into public life, making the person less independent. The tool for this is administrative centralization, which uproots local self-government.
Tyranny of the masses
In the theses of the “Old Order and Revolution” the theory of democracy, already begun in the first book of the author, was developed. Alexis de Tocqueville briefly but succinctly presented ideas, many of which formed the basis of modern political science. In the new work, the writer continued the study of the tyranny of the popular majority. It becomes more distinct if the state has to wage war.
During periods of prolonged bloodshed, there is a danger of the appearance of a commander who decided to take power in the country into his own hands. Such, for example, was Napoleon. Moreover, people tired of the war will gladly give the candidate for the status of national leader all their freedoms in exchange for a promise of stability and future universal enrichment. Therefore, populist slogans have always been popular, even despite their objective unrealizability.
The only way to prevent despotism is freedom itself. It is she who brings people together, weakening egoism and detaching from material interests. A constitutional democratic system alone is not enough. An ideal state should be based on a broad decentralization of power. Therefore, for a large country, the best way to organize is federation. So thought Alexis de Tocqueville. He deduced the concept of an ideal state based on the historical mistakes that his native France, as well as many other countries from around the world, made.
The benefits of decentralization
Only local government can save people from bureaucratic guardianship and force them to engage in their own political education. An ideal state cannot do without completely independent courts and the administration of jurisdiction in case of abuse. It is this institution that should receive the right to reject laws that contradict the constitution and the rights of citizens.
Alexis de Tocqueville, whose quotes quickly scattered through the books of contemporaries and descendants, also advocated complete freedom of association and press. At the same time, the guarantee that the state will not encroach on them is not institutions, but the customs and habits of people. If the population has a request for freedom, it will continue. If citizens voluntarily renounce their rights, no constitution will help them. At the same time, one should not forget that this pattern also has a reverse end. Institutions influence the gradual formation of customs and mores.
The Importance of Tocqueville
Trying to understand how to write a book and how to make a report, Alexis de Tocqueville came to the following solution. In a work on America, he described in detail how democracy became possible across the ocean and what contributed to it. In his work on France, the researcher dwelt on the reasons for the failure of attempts to establish and strengthen civil liberty.
The old order, Alexis de Tocqueville, photographically called the system that developed in his country in the XVIII century at the merger of estate feudal society and royal absolutism. The government maintained the division of society into classes, seeing in it a guarantee of its own preservation. The population was delimited into strata, the members of which, as a rule, carefully deliberately separated themselves from other layers. The peasant did not at all resemble a city dweller, and the merchant did not resemble a landowner nobleman. Gradual democratization and economic growth put an end to this. The revolution destroyed the old order by founding a new one - built on the equality of people among themselves.
Interestingly, the work of Tocqueville was recognized by contemporaries as the first neutral book on the events of the late 18th century in France. Before him, historians published studies defending one side or another of the revolutionary conflict.
It is precisely because of this difference that the work of Alexis de Tocqueville, and indeed all of his publications, deserve the recognition of posterity and are preserved in historical memory. He did not try to justify the actions of the monarchists or supporters of the republic - he wanted to find truth based on facts. Tocqueville died on April 16, 1859 in Cannes. His merits to science and society were appreciated by the publication of a complete collection of works, which withstood numerous additional editions.