1. How are equality of social and economic conditions and economic opportunities connected in Tocqueville's text?
2. According to Tocqueville, why did an elite aristocracy never take root in the United States?
help would be highly appreciated as i do not understand Tocqueville's text:(
Tocqueville’s
Democracy in America
In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville, a French lawyer, was commissioned by the French government to study American prisons. While in America, Tocqueville traveled to the Michigan frontier and as far south as New Orleans, but spent most of his time in New England. He became convinced that there was something exceptional about American society. Between 1835 and 1839, he published a two volume book, Democracy in America. The book is regarded as one of the great works of political thought because of its discussions of liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire economics. Tocqueville argued that these five attributes made America exceptional in the world. America’s social and economic equality enabled the United States to have a remarkable amount of political liberty.
Tocqueville believed the political liberty found on the American frontier helped keep people equal and led to individualism and free economic exchange, both of which benefited America because they were constrained by democratic institutions.
DEMOCRACY AND EQUALITY
Among the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more forcibly than the general equality of condition among the people. I readily discovered the prodigious influence that this primary fact exercises on the whole course of society; it gives a peculiar direction to public opinion and a peculiar tenor to the laws; it imparts new maxims to the governing authorities and peculiar habits to the governed.
I soon perceived that the influence of this fact extends far beyond the political character and the laws of the country, and that it has no less effect on civil society than on the government; it creates opinions, gives birth to
new sentiments, founds novel customs, and modifies whatever it does not produce.
The emigrants who colonized the shores of America in the beginning of the seventeenth century somehow separated the democratic principle from all the principles that it had to contend with in the old communities of Europe, and transplanted it alone to the New World. It has there been able to spread in perfect freedom and peaceably. . . .
EQUALITY AND THE FRONTIER
Tocqueville believed social equality in the United States prevented the growth of an aristocracy and ensured popular democracy. In the excerpt below, he outlines how this equality combined with the open American frontier made the United States unique among nations and led to the development of capitalism.
The social condition of the Americans is eminently democratic; this was its character at the foundation of the Colonies, and is still more strongly marked at the present day. I have stated . . . that great equality existed among the emigrants who settled on the shores of New England. The germ of aristocracy was never planted in that part of the Union.
I do not mean that there is any deficiency of wealthy individuals in the United States; I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken stronger hold on the affections of men, and where the profounder contempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property. But wealth circulates with inconceivable rapidity, and experience shows that it is rare to find two succeeding generations in the full enjoyment of it.
This picture . . . still gives a very imperfect idea of what is taking place in the new States of the West and South-west. At the end of the last century a few bold adventurers began to penetrate into the valleys of the Mississippi, and the mass of the population very soon began to move in that direction: communities unheard of till then were seen to emerge from the wilds. . . . and in the Western settlements we may behold democracy arrived at its utmost extreme. . . .
PUBLIC GOOD FROM INDIVIDUALISM
Individualism was a new concept in the 1800s and Tocqueville worried that it would cause people to pursue their self-interest at the expense of others. Tocqueville believed Americans had found ways to combine individual economic activity with democratic institutions so as to benefit rich and poor.
Individualism is a novel expression, to which a novel idea has given birth. Our fathers were only acquainted with egotism. Egotism is a passionate and exaggerated love of self. . . . Individualism is a mature and calm feelingwhich disposes each member of the community to sever himself from the mass of his fellow-creatures; and to draw apart with his family and his friends; so that, after he has thus formed a little circle of his own, he willingly leaves society at large to itself. . . .
The great advantage of the Americans is that they have arrived at a state of democracy without having to endure a democratic revolution; and that they are born equal, instead of becoming so. . . . The Americans have combated by free institutions the tendency of equality to keep men asunder, and they have subdued it. . . .
In the United States the more opulent citizens take great care not to stand aloof from the people; on the contrary, they constantly keep on easy terms with the lower classes: they listen to them, they speak to them every day. They know that the rich in democracies always stand in need of the poor. . . .
It would seem as if every imagination in the United States were upon the stretch to invent means of increasing the wealth and satisfying the wants of the public. The best-informed inhabitants of each district constantly use their information to discover new truths which may augment the general prosperity; and if they have made any such discoveries, they eagerly surrender them to the mass of the people.
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1. In Tocqueville's text, social and economic equality are connected through the concept of democracy. Tocqueville argues that the general equality of conditions among the American people shapes society, public opinion, laws, and even customs. This equality allows for the spread of democracy and the development of democratic institutions, which in turn create opportunities for economic exchange and individualism. The equal social and economic conditions in America enable individuals to pursue their economic interests freely, benefiting both themselves and the overall prosperity of the nation.
2. Tocqueville suggests that an elite aristocracy never took root in the United States due to the combination of social equality and the open American frontier. The colonizers who migrated to America brought with them the democratic principle, separating it from the aristocratic principles of Europe. As the American colonies were settled, a sense of equality prevailed among the people, preventing the formation of an aristocracy. Moreover, the constant movement of the population towards the new territories in the West and South-west, which Tocqueville refers to as the Western settlements, resulted in an extreme form of democracy where no aristocracy could establish itself. The lack of a traditional aristocracy in America fostered a society where economic opportunities were open to all and wealth was not concentrated in the hands of a select few.
1. In Tocqueville's text, the equality of social and economic conditions is connected to economic opportunities. Tocqueville argues that the general equality of condition among the people in America has a profound influence on society. This equality shapes public opinion, laws, governing authorities, and the habits of the governed. It creates a society in which individuals have a greater sense of equality and can participate more freely in economic activities. This leads to a higher level of economic opportunities for individuals, as the absence of an entrenched aristocracy allows for more social mobility and the ability for individuals to pursue economic ventures.
2. According to Tocqueville, an elite aristocracy never took root in the United States because of the combination of social equality and the American frontier. Tocqueville notes that there is great equality among the American people, especially in the early colonized regions such as New England. While there are wealthy individuals in the United States, Tocqueville argues that wealth circulates quickly and that it is rare for generations to enjoy long-lasting wealth.
The movement of the population towards the frontier, particularly in the West and Southwest, further prevented the growth of an aristocracy. As settlers moved to these regions, new communities emerged, and democracy reached its extreme. This combination of social equality and the constant movement and expansion of the population in America prevented the establishment of a hereditary elite class. Additionally, Tocqueville highlights that the Americans have combated the tendency for equality to keep individuals apart through their free institutions and the active engagement of the more affluent citizens with the lower classes. This inclusion and interaction help prevent the development of a permanent aristocracy.
Overall, Tocqueville argues that the combination of social equality and the absence of an entrenched elite class allows for a more democratic society and provides greater economic opportunities for individuals in the United States.
1. In Tocqueville's text, he connects the equality of social and economic conditions with economic opportunities by highlighting how social equality in America prevents the growth of an aristocracy and ensures popular democracy. Tocqueville argues that the foundation of the American colonies had a great equality among the emigrants who settled there, and this equality continued to be strongly marked in American society. This equality, combined with the open American frontier, allowed for the development of a unique form of capitalism.
Tocqueville explains that social equality in America prevented the growth of an aristocracy because wealth circulates rapidly and it is rare for two succeeding generations to enjoy the full possession of wealth. In addition, Tocqueville describes how the movement of people towards the Western settlements in the United States led to an extreme form of democracy, where social and economic equality was further emphasized.
Furthermore, Tocqueville believes that individualism, which is the pursuit of self-interest, could potentially undermine social cohesion. However, in America, he observes that they have found ways to combine individual economic activity with democratic institutions for the benefit of both the rich and the poor. The more opulent citizens in the United States actively engage with the lower classes and listen to them, recognizing that the rich in democracies rely on the poor. Tocqueville also notes that Americans are constantly seeking innovative ways to increase wealth and satisfy the needs of the public, utilizing their knowledge and discoveries for the general prosperity.
2. Tocqueville argues that an elite aristocracy never took root in the United States due to several factors. Firstly, he attributes it to the social condition of Americans being inherently democratic from the time of the colonies' foundation and continuing to be strongly marked in the present. Tocqueville asserts that there was a lack of a germination of aristocracy among the emigrants who settled in New England, which contributed to the absence of an aristocracy in that region.
Additionally, Tocqueville observes that while there are wealthy individuals in America, the love of money is strong, and wealth circulates rapidly throughout society. He states that it is rare for two succeeding generations to enjoy the full possession of wealth, suggesting that economic mobility prevents the concentration of wealth in the hands of a select elite.
Furthermore, Tocqueville highlights the impact of the open American frontier on social equality. He argues that the movement of people into the western settlements created a situation where democracy reached its extreme, fostering a sense of equality among individuals.
Overall, Tocqueville contends that social equality, the lack of germination of an aristocracy, rapid wealth circulation, economic mobility, and the influence of the open American frontier all contribute to the absence of an elite aristocracy in the United States.
It's been over 60 years since I read Toqueville, so you'll need to depend on your own understanding of the text you included.
There are various study guides here -- https://www.sparknotes.com/search?q=tocqueville -- that include Toqueville's ideas and reactions to various aspects of life in the US during his time.