Do you share Alexis de Tocqueville's opinion on democracy and individualism?

[Julie4]

Individualism is democratic in origin, and it threatens to grow as conditions become more equal.

[…] The aristocracy had made of all the citizens a long chain which ascended from the peasant to the king; democracy breaks the chain and sets each link apart. As conditions become equal, a greater number of individuals are found who, no longer being rich enough or powerful enough to exercise a great influence on the fate of their fellows, have nevertheless acquired or retained enough lights and goods in order to be self-sufficient. These owe nothing to anyone, they expect nothing, so to speak, from anyone; they get used to always considering themselves in isolation, and they readily imagine that their entire destiny is in their hands.

Thus, not only does democracy make each man forget his ancestors, but it hides his descendants from him and separates him from his contemporaries; she constantly draws him back to himself alone, and threatens finally to confine him entirely to the solitude of his own heart.

[Bluemax]

In theory, monsieur de Tocqueville was quite right.

I also agree with his observations on slavery in North America. How it choked industry in the South. It throttled intellectual growth. It strangled the life and character from our nation and caused a planter aristocracy to become content with the status quo as it trampled on the rights of human beings, causing it to lose sight of a better future.

All very true.

[Guy13]

What I remember most about him is that he befriended Christianity and believed freedom and order could not thrive in accordance without Religion. You should consider stating your thesis, worldview, and/or definitional constructs in the subsection below question…

[Anonymous]

I agree that democracy does lead to individualism—or perhaps we could also say that a yearning for individualism leads to democracy—however I do not think it inevitably leads to a forgetting of one’s ancestors nor a distancing from one’s contemporaries.

I believe that these things need to be cultivated, through social occasions, festivals, holidays, family reunions, even just something as simple as getting to know your neighbors.

[Andres77]

Well... do our grandchildren REALLY care about who we are and what we've done? Making decisions as best we can for ourselves and our own children... I'll choose a representative republic every day.

[Spikey_uwu]

This is not the app for academic discussion lol

[BeMuse]

Nope.