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Title: Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, Delba Winthrop, Harvey Claflin, Jr. Mansfield ISBN: 0-226-80532-8 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: November, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.78 (49 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Foundation of Democratic Study. Period.
Comment: Just reading the other reviews I'm astonished at the number of people who liked this book and didn't fully realize thay proved de Tocqueville right again. He points out that a materialistic society encourages each generation to not care a bit about previous/future generations. Its amazing how many people seem to think anything might be dated because it was written in 1830. Some things may have changed but the issues haven't. Ignore the date, this book is now.
It is a required reading by most Political Science dept. courses about American political thought. The most resonating critiques arise from his examination of the synergistic effect of individualism and materialism on democracy. Also he forbodes the ills of a strong centeralized government trampling on citizens- a warning calling out the need for strong local involvement by citizens.
With todays media its ironic that he calls Public Opinion the fourth branch of American government. I haven't seen the results of opinion polls on that last point though, I'm waiting for the Six O'clock news to tell me...
Rating: 5
Summary: Human nature in American democracy
Comment: Toqueville's work unquestionably will last for as long as human nature remains the same. Certainly, it is diverting to read accounts about the topography and anachronistically idiosyncratic habits of the inhabitants of America over a century ago; the fundamental value of his work, however, lies in his acute understanding of human nature that does not change throughout time. I must, however, qualify this statement, since there is only one Book, the author of which I am in utter agreement. One part of his book I disagree with concerns the ways of ending slavery. It was not nearly as dangerously problematic as he thinks, since most Western nations that had had slavery peacefully eradicated it, and America could have done so by several means. (One way, although a distinct compromise, could have been for philanthropists, abolitionists, and/ or government to requite the slave owners their money and thereby instantly free those enslaved.) Having said that, I wholeheartedly agree with much of the work, and think that more than most writers on the American polity, he truly perceives how certain tendencies of human nature are revealed in this particular society founded upon practical wisdom, personal responsibility, self-reliance, and faith. Many of his disquisitions on these tendencies that could be accentuated in American democracy are now more thought-provoking than ever. One prominent example is his understanding of an issue fundamental to Americans. He famously shows how they are pragmatically intent upon getting things done by combining in 'societies.' A problem could occur if ever the citizens in general become selfish and much less self-reliant: 'individualism' could arise. He articulates a bleak portrait of a society in which none care to take personal responsibility, but are willing to sacrifice freedom for temporary security. This is disquieting for modern society, and it would be well were more people to read his work and learn from it.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best novels of the 19th century
Comment: This is one of the best novels of the 19th century. Most people do not recognize the significance of this book, however its relevance to modern literature cannot be emphasized more. Ironically, this book has apparently
gained quite a following among political scientists, historians, and pediatric endocrinologists, however this is only because of a misinterpretation. Many believe De Tocqueville to have been what he claims to have been, a gentleman, statesman, diplomat, and liaision for France to the United States. De Tocqueville was none of the above, in fact he was a petty criminal from Marseille who was arrested in 1832 for stealing horseshoes from a prominent businessman's steed. While in jail he was mixed up with political prisoners from a recent revolt and sent to Martinique to serve a sentance of 5 years hard labor. Unfortunately, De Tocqueville had a hot temper and allegedly killed an Arawak Indian in a fight, and being that this was the last known Arawak Indian on the island was sentanced to life in prison. It was here that he met a young Victor Hugo, a criminal justice student studying colonial jail system and theory, who De Tocqueville befriended. Hugo taught him to write, which Alexis did to pass the time and to allay his growing madness. Upon his death, guards found thousands of pages of text stuffed under his soiled mattress, some of which we now know to be Democracy In America. It was part of a larger epic about a French diplomat named Arnaud Venilas who wrote political treatises and sold them to British merchants to feed his opium addiction.
I wholeheartedly disagree with the modern interpretation of this work and hope that eventually this mini story will be put back into the Venilas context as De Tocqueville had originally intended.
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Title: Common Sense by Thomas Paine ISBN: 0486296024 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 22 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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Title: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, Clinton Rossiter, Charles R. Kesler ISBN: 0451528816 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, Clinton Lawrence Rossiter, Charles R. Kesler, Clinton Rossiter ISBN: 0451628810 Publisher: Mentor Books Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Wealth of Nations (Great Minds Series) by Adam Smith ISBN: 0879757051 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: December, 1991 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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Title: The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History, 1775-1865 (Dover Thrift Editions) by John Grafton ISBN: 0486411249 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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