Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy and Individualism in America

Alexis de Tocqueville and the American Experience

In May 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville landed on the shores of North America to understand the power of this new American society. After his journey, he wrote a seminal book called Democracy in America, describing this unique society.

Equality of Opportunity and Social Democracy

American society was marked by conditions of equality among men, establishing a social democracy. This was not an equality of material conditions—as the society was clearly divided into rich and poor—but rather an equality of opportunities, ensuring that everyone could enjoy the same kinds of goods that any other enjoyed.

The Rise of Individualism

This equality had the distinct effect of fostering individualism. It offered a possibility to achieve happiness by the individual returning to themselves, concentrating on a small circle of relations. For Tocqueville, individualism was an inexorable law that would eventually reach Europe. However, the consequences of this individualism would be different across the Atlantic:

• In America: There was a society with strong communal ties. Civic-minded people possessed a practical and realistic political education, meaning individualism remained counterbalanced.
• The Danger: The greatest danger, according to Tocqueville, was that individuals focused entirely on personal struggles would cast aside questions of societal status and the progress of the whole society.

The Balance of Virtues and the Threat of Despotism

While individualism promoted obvious virtues such as tenacity, responsibility, and personal effort, it lacked public virtues. This potential relationship between public and private aspects led, as a consequence, to the rule of majority public opinion.

Due to the material conditions desired by an individual being identical to those of other citizens living around them, Americans could end up adopting the same views as the majority without paying them much interest, hoping that a minor government would deal with public affairs. Thus, public power would be united with the leaders through the public, configuring two distinct classes: the government on one side, and disinterested citizens on the other.

The Ultimate Danger and Solution

According to Tocqueville, this form of democratic despotism is the most dangerous of all landmarks of humanity. In the end, the solution to recover the interest of individuals in public life—which forms a real democracy—was to shape the spirit of citizens to open them to other ways of thinking and community engagement.