It is what one might think of as intermediary groups, voluntary groups, civic organizations of all kinds that Tocqueville is immensely impressed with and which he turns into one of the central pillars of the democratic experience. In some way, connected to what he calls later in the book “the spirit of the city,” using “the city” here in the context of the ancient sense of polis, l’esprit de cité, a kind of polis-like character in these small New England townships, very important, Tocqueville believes, for the sustaining a democratic country and a democratic society.īut the second, and probably the aspect of Tocqueville’s account of democratic America that has received the most attention at least recently, is the aspect of what he calls throughout the book “civil association,” civic association. But of these three features, the first I talked a little bit about on Monday is the importance of local government, the township as it’s translated in this edition, what Tocqueville calls the “commune,” the community, community spirit, local government. That is not to say they were central to the democratic experience, but they are central features of the American democratic experience and to what degree these can be or could possibly be translated to other contexts in other emerging democracies remains very much an open question. Professor Steven Smith: Last time, I believe I said I wanted to discuss three features that Tocqueville regarded as central to American democracy. The Characteristics of American Democracy: Civil Association

Introduction to Political Philosophy PLSC 114 - Lecture 22 - Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in AmericaĬhapter 1.

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