In this episode, I discuss Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America.” In this book, which was published in 1835, de Tocqueville describes every aspect of American society at this point in time. A Frenchman, de Tocqueville visited the United States for nine months in 1831 when he was just 25 years old. Despite his young age, de Tocqueville was extremely astute and connected a wide array of dots. He pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of democracy in America. Among his prescient predictions were that slavery would provide the next major political issue in the United States and that it would eventually be abolished. Also, he predicted that the United States and Russia would collide as major powers in the future, despite neither country being at the forefront of world affairs at the time. I believe this book is worth discussing during this episode because de Tocqueville’s writing is lucid and valuable to this day.

Suggested Readings/Referenced Articles:
Book: “Democracy in America: Volume 1” by Alexis de Tocqueville (free, legal PDF/EPUB downloads from Project Gutenberg)
Book: “Defending the Undefendable” by Walter Block (free, legal PDF/EPUB downloads from the Mises Institute)

Episode 48 – Democracy in America