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Summary Of Democracy In America By Alexis De Tocqueville

921 Words4 Pages

The United States was founded on a set of principles and beliefs based upon unalienable rights. These unalienable rights contribute to the state of political freedoms and the rights held by its citizens. In “Democracy in America”, Alexis de Tocqueville characterizes political association as an unalienable right and praises the United States for its implementation and effectiveness. He explains that while other countries in the world may have similar freedoms, political associations appeared more numerous in America than in other places because Americans are taught from infancy to be self-reliant and not to depend upon social authority (De Tocqueville 1956, 96). Consequently, those who oppose social authority and may be viewed as a minority, …show more content…

We can measure the amount of political associations and see how their numbers influence the majority’s power. These associations adhere to similar policies based on their public interests. Association may unite the efforts of diverging minds towards a collective point (De Tocqueville 1956, 96). In other words, we can measure the amount of opposition occurring towards a public policy.
2. Moreover, associations are needed in democratic countries whereby despotism may establish an abuse of power (De Tocqueville 1956, 97). As a result, we can look across countries whereby similar freedoms are implemented and compare the influences of the majority across similar countries.
3. Finally, the freedom of expression and freedom of association allows individuals/groups to become vocal about their public interests. As a result, we can expect public protests, demonstrations and criticism of the government by the press to take place resulting in the sway of public policy. Whether a public policy gets instituted may depend on the show of support/opposition that is demonstrated.
H2: If there is an increase in the number of political associations, we should see the increase in quality of

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