Beyond Struggle and Power: Heidegger's Secret ... - Interpretation

Book Review: The Cambridge Companion to Tocqueville
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Democracy needs a political science sympathetic to such religion
because the political science finds in the Bios ti of democracy, its way of
life, much “to produce weak, soft, timid individuals who cannot see how they
can manage,” and so look to the tutelary state for help and guidance (93). Here
Tocqueville commends the main institutional benefit of the regime of democracy
as seen in America, the local self-government produced by the art or
science of association. “For Tocqueville, the desire to associate is not a mere
consequence of one’s interest but also a part of one’s nature, though in one’s
nature it comes second to one’s interest” (93)—a combination of Aristotle and
Publius, indeed. In America human association, like Christianity, also ascends
to the level of proper, even noble pride. The American “feels himself glorified in
his country’s glory; his interest is not cold and indifferent but rises to patriotic
passion” (93). Participation in the largest civic associations, political parties,
not unlike church membership, teaches pride by moderating it, habituating
party members to prudence (what do we need to do to win this election?) and
cooperation (how can I help?).
The politeia or formal structure of the American regime supports
the politeuma—the people and their representatives—in making the
democratic way of life decent. The American federal form combines centralized
government with decentralized administration, the latter ensuring active
citizen participation. “In America, a plethora of elections keeps citizens active
and prevents the rule of a centralized bureaucracy” (95); unlike Europe,
America shows how freedom and order can go together. The New England
township shows this spirit of freedom in action, enabling Tocqueville to
“explain how authority in a democracy becomes legitimate,” thus answering
the question the moderns ask. The citizen of a township “obeys society not
because he is inferior to anyone but because he knows that society is useful to
him, and that obedience is necessary to society” (96). Why is this not merely a
reflection of the theories of Hobbes and Locke? Because the lesson the citizen
learns from participating in local self-government comes “from social experience
rather than individual imagination”—that is, from envisioning a previous
‘state of nature.’ Citizenship
mixes rights and duties rather than distinguishing them, establishes
the authority of ‘selectmen’ rather than a sovereign representative,
and results in patriotic strength and independence among the citizens
rather than fear and subjection. Here is freedom from the
ground up, making weak individuals strong by advancing beyond
individual interest to the exercise of pride and ambition when put to
work among one’s neighbors. (96)