Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville
1850 portrait by Théodore Chassériau
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
2 June 1849 – 30 October 1849
Prime MinisterOdilon Barrot
Preceded byÉdouard Drouyn de Lhuys
Succeeded byAlphonse de Rayneval
President of the General Council of Manche
In office
27 August 1849 – 29 April 1852
Preceded byLéonor-Joseph Havin
Succeeded byUrbain Le Verrier
Member of the National Assembly
for Manche
In office
25 April 1848 – 3 December 1851
Preceded byLéonor-Joseph Havin
Succeeded byHervé de Kergorlay
ConstituencySainte-Mère-Église
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
for Manche
In office
7 March 1839 – 23 April 1848
Preceded byJules Polydore Le Marois
Succeeded byGabriel-Joseph Laumondais
ConstituencyValognes
Personal details
Born
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel de Tocqueville

(1805-07-29)29 July 1805
Paris, France
Died16 April 1859(1859-04-16) (aged 53)
Cannes, France
Resting placeTocqueville, Manche
Political partyMovement Party[1][2]
(1839–1848)
Party of Order
(1848–1851)
Spouse
Mary Mottley
(m. 1835)
Alma materUniversity of Paris
ProfessionHistorian, magistrate, jurist
Signature

Philosophy career
Notable workDemocracy in America (1835)
The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856)
Era19th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolLiberalism[3][4][5]
Liberal conservatism[6]
Main interests
History, political philosophy, sociology
Notable ideas
Voluntary association, mutual liberty, soft despotism, soft tyranny, Tocqueville effect

Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville[a] (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859),[7] was a French aristocrat, diplomat, sociologist, political scientist, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both, he analyzed the living standards and social conditions of individuals as well as their relationship to the market and state in Western societies. Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville's travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science.

Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution. He retired from political life after Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's 2 December 1851 coup and thereafter began work on The Old Regime and the Revolution.[8] Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under King Louis XIV. He believed the failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals.

Tocqueville was a classical liberal who advocated parliamentary government and was skeptical of the extremes of majoritarianism.[8] During his time in parliament, he was first a member of the centre-left before moving to the centre-right,[9] and the complex and restless nature of his liberalism has led to contrasting interpretations and admirers across the political spectrum.[3][4][5][10]

  1. ^ Boucaud-Victoire, Kévin (2017). La guerre des gauches. Editions du Cerf.
  2. ^ Véricour, Louis Raymond (1848). Modern French Literature. Gould, Kendall and Lincoln. p. 104.
  3. ^ a b Jaume, Lucien (2013). Tocqueville: The Aristocratic Sources of Liberty. Princeton University Press. p. 6. The "liberal" label is not misplaced, because Tocqueville described himself as a liberal.
  4. ^ a b Kahan, Alan S. (2010). Alexis de Tocqueville. A&C Black. pp. 112–122.
  5. ^ a b Muthu, Sankar (2012). "Republicanism, Liberalism, and Empire in Postrevolutionary France". Empire and Modern Political Thought. Cambridge University Press. pp. 261–291.
  6. ^ Lakoff, Sanford (1998). "Tocqueville, Burke, and the Origins of Liberal Conservatism". The Review of Politics. 60 (3): 435–464. doi:10.1017/S003467050002742X. ISSN 1748-6858. S2CID 145118465.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB1911 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Hansen, Paul R. (February 2009). Contesting the French Revolution. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4051-6084-1.
  9. ^ Jennings, Jeremy (2011). Revolution and the Republic: A History of Political Thought in France Since the Eighteenth Century. Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-19-820313-1.
  10. ^ Richter, Melvin (2004). "Tocqueville and Guizot on democracy: from a type of society to a political regime". History of European Ideas. 30 (1): 61–82. doi:10.1016/j.histeuroideas.2003.08.006. S2CID 143728735.


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