Ideologies / Classical Liberal / Alexis de Tocqueville
§ The minds · 1805–1859 · France · Political thinker
Alexis de Tocqueville
Liberty against soft despotism
Civil association as the school of freedom.
Economic+48
SocialistMarket
Governance−45
LibertarianAuthoritarian
Social−10
TraditionalProgressive
The French observer of American democracy who praised its associations and warned that equality could breed a gentle, all-managing 'soft despotism'.
social
Aristocratic moderate; valued religion and association as bulwarks of liberty.
economic
Defended property and commerce as supports of independence.
governance
Warned of centralisation and the 'tyranny of the majority'; prized local self-rule.
Notable for
- 'Democracy in America'
- Theory of the tyranny of the majority
- Analysis of civic association
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