Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
Democracy Today.indb - Universidade do Minho
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the “taste” for free<strong>do</strong>m, or the habit of governing themselves. To put<br />
it simply, there is a counterbalance to the Democratic tendency of<br />
centralization. At the head of this, Tocqueville observes, is the system<br />
of decentralization that the Americans manage to maintain. The US<br />
political system is designed to such an effect that the governmental<br />
power is properly centralized in the upper strata of governmental<br />
agency – first of all the federal government – while the administrative<br />
details are left to local governments – or more precisely, to the citizens<br />
themselves. Simple as it may seem from outside, it is actually a delicate<br />
and fragile thing, especially when comparing it to the political situation<br />
of the European countries. In <strong>Democracy</strong> in America Tocqueville refers<br />
to the French state in order to indicate how difficult it is to maintain a<br />
system of decentralization in the face of <strong>Democracy</strong>, and how fortunate<br />
and brilliant the Americans are in achieving this.<br />
While decentralization basically means share of power, it cannot<br />
stand by itself without significant citizen participation. Tocqueville<br />
understands democratic rule very well. He discerns that a rule by many<br />
people – despite the various types it takes – may not be as efficient<br />
and persistent as the rule by one or a small group of people. But the<br />
significance of participation <strong>do</strong>es not lie there. The mere fact of their<br />
having a say in affairs that concern them leads to a boost in people’s<br />
spirit in looking after the common good. More importantly, participation<br />
is to make people realize that their own free<strong>do</strong>m and prosperity<br />
are actually bound with other people’s. Tocqueville states: “it is not<br />
the elected magistrate who makes American democracy prosper; but<br />
it prospers because the magistrate is elective.” (2000, 488) This is why<br />
Tocqueville is so fond of the American township which, Tocqueville<br />
says, functions like a school for democracy. And the federal system<br />
of America is so designed that it guarantees people a significant and<br />
reasonable share in all public affairs. In the end, the share of power<br />
is a share among citizens. A free state is a state in which citizens can<br />
freely participate in overseeing their own affairs.<br />
In this respect, Tocqueville is close to Rousseau’s idea of free<strong>do</strong>m.<br />
Both of them agree that free<strong>do</strong>m is only possible in a political community.<br />
Both define free<strong>do</strong>m as opposed to the state of slavery. And<br />
for both of them, citizen participation is crucial in maintaining a free<br />
state. But Tocqueville is decisively different from Rousseau in that he<br />
27<br />
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE’S<br />
NOTION OF POLITICAL<br />
FREEDOM<br />
Demin Duan