America Will Be “Great Again,” When America Is “Good, Again.”
(Note: This is an updated version of a 2016 article written for BeingLibertarian.com)
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his seminal work, On Democracy in America, that “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great”
De Tocqueville, for those who are unfamiliar with his great work, was a French diplomat, historian, and political scientist. He came to America in the early 19th century to study the fledgling American political society and its various forms of political associations.
His travels took place less than 40 years after the revolution that overthrew the French monarchy and aristocracy. Many historians believe De Tocqueville's intentions in coming to America were to study the new ‘experiment’ that was America and to find examples that would help the French people better understand their own position between the former aristocratic order and their newfound democracy.
De Tocqueville saw democracy as an equation that balanced liberty and equality, concern for the individual as well as for the community. He was adamant about finding examples of that balance.
One of these keys to this “balance” was the dichotomy between liberty and responsibility. De Tocqueville noted that the people…
