"The Tyranny of the Majority" - from Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America"

Tocqueville.org ^ | 1835 (Volume 1) & 1840 (Volume 2) | Alexis de Tocqueville

[Loud Mime]

Important Quotes - PING!

[GiovannaNicoletta]

bookmark

[MileHi]

bflr - thanks

[Loud Mime]

Mr. Hamilton expresses the same opinion in the "Federalist," No. 51. "It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been, and ever will be, pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. In a society, under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature, where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger: and as in the latter state even the stronger individuals are prompted by the uncertainty of their condition to submit to a government which may protect the weak as well as themselves, so in the former state will the more powerful factions be gradually induced by a like motive to wish for a government which will protect all parties, the weaker as well as the more powerful. It can be little doubted that, if the State of Rhode Island was separated from the Confederacy and left to itself, the insecurity of right under the popular form of government within such narrow limits would be displayed by such reiterated oppressions of the factious majorities, that some power altogether independent of the people would soon be called for by the voice of the very factions whose misrule had proved the necessity of it."

[Huck]

The founders would have considered a republic as large as the USA is now totally unworkable. Hell, they thought they were pushing their luck with the original 13 colonies.

In truth, America is too large, and should be broken up into smaller republics.

[cthemfly25]

Thank you for that wonderful excerpt. I keep “Democracy in America” handy as a reference finding him to be incredibly prophetic and topical. It would serve us all to heed his reminders. We have yielded to mob rule in an institutional sense rather systemically by amending the Constitution to permit an income tax and by permitting the direct election of what was to be the representative of the states and the states’ political interests, i.e. senators. Again, thanks.

[Uriah_lost]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7M-7LkvcVw

[Canedawg]

[Loud Mime]

I do not believe it is an issue of size; I believe it is a matter of education, greed and ethics.

As the distance (time wise) from the revolution grew the people took their liberty and freedom for granted. The same thing is happening in South Korea, a very small country. It is what people do...they forget.

The Obambots have been manipulated from day one. Now the effects of his anti-business promises is setting in. A friend of mine at Disneyland said that she lost 1/3 of her crew this week. This is education at its finest.

All this CHANGE has produced a new effort to educate oneself on the principles of government. I believe that education is the answer, not smaller factions without the education.

[RC2]

“American is too large”? A Republic can work here if the people want it to work. Without a Republic, we become no different that the EU. I don’t think that is what we want. As for the idea of breaking the country up......we would be invaded in short order.

[Loud Mime]

You are welcome. I consider this a privilege.

I remember one of the arguments against our Constitution was that all three branches of government were contained under the same authority. Madison defended that by explaining that the Senate represented the State governments, something that the Seventeenth Amendment changed.

So, our government's powers are all self promoted and self managed. And, they determine their own pay.

[Loud Mime]

Have you read "The Summer of 1787?"

It's a wonderful book about the writing of the Constitution. Author Stewart's stories about George Washington's will to keep the Union united was very heartwarming.

[Soothesayer]

One of those most brilliant essays ever written.

[MurrietaMadman]

we would be invaded in short order.

As opposed to believing Reconquista as invasion is a tall order. /Groucho Marks.

[Vaduz]

I do not think that it is possible to combine several principles in the same government,I question that it’s the people who allow the principles to create a problem in government by being blind to the facts note last election.

[Steelfish]

Thanks for the post. Our republic has both a horizontal axis in the division of power (Legislature, Executive Judiciary) and a vertical axis (Federal-State) and within the vertical axis power is fragmented at various levels from county and municipal government to local school boards. Power is atomized in corporations and universities through boards of directors and faculty committees etc. What no one envisioned was the massive development of a fourth and largely unaccountable branch of government- the administrative branch. This development more than anything else skews the paradigm of the Framers.

[Loud Mime]

Please explain; it was vague to me.

[Loud Mime]

Please explain; it was vague to me.

[Loud Mime]

Federalist 62 is my reply.