The king was arrested in the French Revolution
1 man volunteered to be his lawyer
With the king, he was beheaded too
Decades later, the lawyer's grandson wrote a book on the DARK SIDE of democracy, equality, & liberalism
His name: Tocqueville. Book became a classic. A thread:
1 man volunteered to be his lawyer
With the king, he was beheaded too
Decades later, the lawyer's grandson wrote a book on the DARK SIDE of democracy, equality, & liberalism
His name: Tocqueville. Book became a classic. A thread:
1/ Human lust for equality overpowers our love for freedom:
“Democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom. But for equality, their passion is insatiable: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery”
“Democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom. But for equality, their passion is insatiable: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery”
2/ Democracy is a force of atomization
It disconnects a man not just from “his ancestors” but also his descendants and peers
Tocqueville: “Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart”
Haunting
It disconnects a man not just from “his ancestors” but also his descendants and peers
Tocqueville: “Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart”
Haunting
3/ Tocqueville on how democracy gave us Rupi Kaur:
“Democratic literature will never exhibit the order, skill, art of aristocratic literature; formal qualities will be neglected or actually despised. The style will be strange, incorrect, loose, and almost always strong & bold.”
“Democratic literature will never exhibit the order, skill, art of aristocratic literature; formal qualities will be neglected or actually despised. The style will be strange, incorrect, loose, and almost always strong & bold.”
4/ Tocqueville on why you can only let people free IF they’re religious:
“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot”
Political rules can only be relaxed if moral rules are “strengthened”
People can only be “their own masters” once they’re “submissive to the Deity”
“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot”
Political rules can only be relaxed if moral rules are “strengthened”
People can only be “their own masters” once they’re “submissive to the Deity”
5/ The modern govt of bureaucrats & managers covers “society with a network of small, complicated rules, minute and uniform”
In such a world, the “most original minds and the most energetic characters” cannot thrive
Tocqueville: “The will of man is not shattered, but softened”
In such a world, the “most original minds and the most energetic characters” cannot thrive
Tocqueville: “The will of man is not shattered, but softened”
6/ To be a nation capable of collective action, you need a shared worldview:
“Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not”
Social action is only possible if the society is bound by "some principle ideas"
“Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not”
Social action is only possible if the society is bound by "some principle ideas"
7/ Tocqueville on safetyism becoming the organizing principle of life:
“What good does it do me if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil and races ahead of me to ward off all danger, sparing me the need even to think?”
“What good does it do me if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil and races ahead of me to ward off all danger, sparing me the need even to think?”
8/ It is to the government's advantage if more men of action can be spiritually castrated and turned into NPCs
This is why the state “extinguishes and stupefies” our energies
Tocqueville:
“The men are seldom forced to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting”
This is why the state “extinguishes and stupefies” our energies
Tocqueville:
“The men are seldom forced to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting”
9/ Life today punctures a thousand small holes in us, saps our initiative, makes great tasks impossible:
“What chiefly diverts the men of democracies from lofty ambition is not the scantiness of their fortunes, but the vehemence of the exertions they daily make to improve them”
“What chiefly diverts the men of democracies from lofty ambition is not the scantiness of their fortunes, but the vehemence of the exertions they daily make to improve them”
10/ Tocqueville's conclusion...
Democracy is mid:
“If a democratic society displays less brilliance than an aristocracy, there will also be less wretchedness; the sciences will be on a smaller scale but ignorance will be less common; you will notice more vices and fewer crimes”
Democracy is mid:
“If a democratic society displays less brilliance than an aristocracy, there will also be less wretchedness; the sciences will be on a smaller scale but ignorance will be less common; you will notice more vices and fewer crimes”
11/ Tocqueville perfectly nailed the texture of modern life in 1835:
Thank you for reading!
For more such writing, check out my book, Hit Reverse: New Ideas From Old Books
750+ insights from 75 old books: jashdholani.gumroad.com/l/hitreverse
For more such writing, check out my book, Hit Reverse: New Ideas From Old Books
750+ insights from 75 old books: jashdholani.gumroad.com/l/hitreverse
Appreciate your time fren!
Today is Tocqueville's 219th birthday...
If you found the thread interesting
RT the first tweet!👇🏻
Today is Tocqueville's 219th birthday...
If you found the thread interesting
RT the first tweet!👇🏻
https://x.com/oldbooksguy/status/1817993034342219842
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