TOQUEVILLE: Democracy in America

What sort of people are Americans? It’s hard to say. After all there are more than three hundred million of us. How can that many people be neatly summarized in a phrase or two? On the other hand can anyone seriously argue that the English aren’t somehow fundamentally different from the French? Not to mention the Russians? There’s something distinctly characteristic about each of them. Despite individual quirks of individual citizens living within each country there is definitely something that stands out collectively to make England what it is, France what it is, and Russia what it is. The food, architecture and general outlook of the people is distinctly different in each country. So what is it that makes Americans what they are – distinctly different from the English or the French or the Russians?

This is one of the questions Tocqueville sets out to answer in Democracy in America. Whether or not he is successful is a question historians can debate amongst themselves. I’m convinced that Tocqueville is remarkably perceptive in assessing the general American character. Two words summarize his overall judgment: politics and business. Some folks might argue that entertainment and sports are also two favorite American pursuits but those two arenas have been nearly consumed by politics and business. In 2005 Americans spent over 50 billion dollars on sporting goods. In 2006 Americans spent almost 10 billion dollars on movie tickets alone. Sports and entertainment are big business and where there’s money to be made politics can’t be far behind. Example: Congress getting involved in the latest scandals involving steroid use in amateur and professional athletics. Example: Congress threatening to pass legislation to make movie ratings mandatory if the film industry didn’t clean up its act on its own.

Tocqueville states outright that “I do not regard the American Constitution as the best, or as the only one, that a democratic people may establish.” But he thinks the constitution of the United States is almost perfectly adapted for the energies and the interests of the American people. Tocqueville admits that “Democracy does not confer the most skillful kind of government upon the people…” but that’s ok with Americans because what American-style democracy does confer is “an all-pervading and restless activity…” It’s this restless activity which keeps the economy going, which in turn fuels the heated political climate of the country, which promises in return to keep the economy strong, and so on in an endless cycle. Tocqueville points out that “the country that exerts itself so strenuously to promote its welfare is generally more wealthy and more prosperous than the country that appears to be so contented with its lot.” That makes a lot of sense to no-nonsense Americans. So the goal to promote the general welfare is built right into the Constitution of the United States. It’s one of the cherished notions of American citizens that they have a constitutional right to get rich.

For better or for worse this is the climate into which Americans are born. We’re nurtured by it and we thrive in it. We live within the context of a hyperactive community of intense participation. We want to keep up with what’s going on around us. Tocqueville makes the observation that “if an American were condemned to confine his activity to his own affairs, he would be robbed of one half of his existence.” In short, as long as Americans flourish there’ll be a market for People magazine, political action committees and shopping malls. And every summer, baseball. Welcome to America.

-- RDP