Le Monde Selon
Eighteen chapters, inglobating personal history, trips, thoughts writing, letters of the french thinker and politician.
France is considered by everyone the land of freedom, but Tocqueville, although treated this topic in every possible ways, was sadly ignored.
Tocqueville was an incredible man, a fine thinker, someone who made the difference, although, for weird reasons, in France disappeared, like also his thoughts, for "reappiring" only during the mid of the XX century. It still is considered in France an enigmatic character, and one of the most illuminating persons while in the USA his thoughts are avidly studied by students, professors, teachers and whoever want to understand better the democratic system of a country and its internal problems.
Tocqueville was born in an aristrocratic french family and his existence was characterized by good education, later by the so-called Grand Tour, a trip attended mainly by wealthy young men and girls all around Europe. Tocqueville spent a lot of time in Italy loving the country very much.
But it was a trip he attended later in the USA for work that "created" the thinker; the USA "made," modeled the mind of Tocqueville. Once returned to Europe that influences will remain with him for the rest of his existence seeing the world under other aspects and visions. Forever.
His most important writings are De la démocratie en Amérique, L’Ancien Régime et la Révolution. His writings touches in particular the situation in Ireland, pauperism, but also the sad conditions experienced by France during the decades.
Tocqueville was a politician as well, but substantially he hasn't never found a proper space and kept, always kept, an original thought that avoided him of being too satisfied of the government existing in a certain moment.
He analyzed the French Revolution and its aberrations, like also what happened later with monarchy.
Being a person of great integrity he spent a solitary existence although his writings are not just brilliant, but wonderfully, terribly, modern.
The French Revolution was a shocking experience for sure. Why that? If the motto was: Libertè, Egalitè, Fraternitè, nothing seriously democratic was going on. The radicalization of that men and women brought just the loss of every freedom and traditions. The end of religion; the end of a normal life. Napoleon was an answer, but it passed through despotism and many wars.
Six people of the Tocqueville family lost the existence during the period of Terror. His father lost everything and later just a little portion of their patrimony returned to them.
Tocqueville was a noble and it meant to him understanding the real values of nobility, grandeur; he hated mediocrity.
Tocqueville lived internal conflicts for many reasons. Yes, he was a noble, but he was a liberal as well; at the same time someone who could not accept, let's use an euphemism, the frequent "confusion" of public and private interests.
A democracy is in peril when a majority "destroys" the minority part and if equality suppress freedom.
Another wonderful thinker with which Tocqueville will enter in contact and will keep a correspondence 'till his premature death is John Stuart Mill.
Tocqueville married a british and protestant girl more young than him of 6 years, for remarking what it meant to him independance of spirit.
What he was searching for France was a democratic state, liberalism was another inspiration.
Biggest tensions and problems of democracy? The imperant individualism mixed at a complete disinterest for the problems of people, caused at that times by industrialization, urbanization and new social classes.
Analyzing the United States and Russia Tocqueville noticed that while the first one adopted individualism and freedom as way of living, the second one was an autocratic and violent regime. A good democracy permits to everyone good social conditions but also many other rights.
These years are populated by a profound international crisis and democracy is less potent; there was a populistic choc in the entire world, we can add. Regimes promising security, prosperity at the citizens became a reality.
Socialism doesn't exist anymore, capitalism, and prosperity are words not anymore of the Western countries but of Asian ones, starting with China.
We have seen it these weeks with the advent of Covid-19 a dangerous Coronavirus in grade of paralyzing a country and the economy of the entire world, dependant by China, and we don't know yet what will happen in the closest future.
The USA and its leadership is diminuished with the immense power "captured" by China during these past decades. The old world known by Tocqueville if not disappeared is changed a lot.
Equality is maybe the most beloved word of Tocqueville and he analyzed in his books democracy under many aspects, without to offer a real definition of a democratic system because of the contracditions offered in the various countries where this system is "installed."
Risks for a democracy are also the interior decomposition, corruption of medias, demagody, fascination for strong characters: at the end, violence.
That the world fell confused and lost recently is pretty known: Brexit, the ascension of Donald Trump at the American Presidency, in Italy M5S and North League, without to looking at other extra-european realities are signs that there is discomfort; new dangerous shadows disappeared per decades are sadly re-emerging.
That's why this book is so illuminating and important: this world has lost the light and light must return.
Died prematurely Tocqueville in his testament spent important words for his wife Marie: Elle est la seule femme que j’aie réellement et profondément aimée... "She is the only woman I profoundly loved."
Highly recommended.
I thank Editions Tallandier for the copy of this book.
Anna Maria Polidori
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