Democracy in America

Tocqueville notes that the American pursuit of well-being does not lead to tranquil mental states. Instead, he observes, “It is a strange thing to see with what sort of feverish ardor Americans pursue well-being and how they show themselves constantly tormented by a vague fear of not having chosen the shortest route that can lead to it” (511-12). Americans are constantly chasing success and greatness, restless because of the “brevity of life” (512). As equality grows, more citizens believe they can achieve great things, but they are surrounded by those who share this view and advancement becomes more difficult when many people are striving for the same goal. Some equality always exists, once a society has transitioned, but it will never be perfect enough to quiet internal restlessness. This explains “the disgust with life that sometimes seizes them in the midst of an easy and tranquil existence” (514).

In discussing the relationship between material freedom and politics, Tocqueville argues that “men of democratic times need to be free in order to procure more easily for themselves the material enjoyments for which they constantly sigh” (515), but that these desires can be co-opted by a tyrannical leader if no care is taken to develop popular understandings of freedom. Tocqueville describes these gloomy affairs and opines that a “nation that demands of its government only the maintenance of order is already a slave at the bottom of its heart; it is a slave to its well-being, and the man who is to put it in chains can appear” (516). Americans have created a society where the desire for comfort and freedom reinforce each other, as Tocqueville describes:

They therefore do not think that meddling in the public is not their affair; they believe, on the contrary, that their principal affair is to secure by themselves a government that permits them to acquire the goods they desire (517).

Good government is perceived as a means to prosperity, and stability in itself is not sufficient for the majority of Americans.

Tocqueville asserts that the American love of well-being is not limitless. Americans are steadfast observers of the Christian Sabbath and spend the day in contemplation of “all which is great, pure, eternal” (517) instead of their usual quotidian preoccupations. Tocqueville argues that this is because of a widespread conviction: “Americans show by their practice that they feel every necessity of making democracy more moral by means of religion” (518). Tocqueville argues that life without religion and spirituality is particularly dangerous in democracies, because political culture there is already so focused on the material. He argues that most literature, including philosophy, shows that humans are naturally drawn to spiritual ideas and that efforts must be made to recognize this need: “The human heart is vaster than one supposes; it can at once contain a taste for the goods of the earth and a love of those of Heaven” (520). While Tocqueville maintains his belief in separation of church and state, he argues that politicians should publicly profess their religious faith to maintain it in the population at large.

To conclude his reflections on democracy and religion, Tocqueville argues that too much preoccupation with material goods would turn people back into “brutes” (522) and that the only antidote is for moral leaders to ensure a continued focus on long-term goals rather than short-term acquisitions. This would be especially necessary in periods where most citizens had little religious faith or were strongly democratic. In politics leaders must make sure that success is associated with long labor: “It is to be wished that each instance of progress appear to be the fruit of an effort, so that no greatness be too easy and that ambition be forced to fix its eye on the goal for a long time before attaining it” (524).