What Tocqueville discovered, however, was quite different. If everyone has an equal voice in the making of the laws, why should anyone accept their authority? A democratic society would surely be a firestorm of chaos and anarchy. Democratic government, they thought, could only tear itself to pieces. When Tocqueville went to America, he probably shared the view of most of his countrymen that democracy was doomed to fail. After all, what can a 150 year old treatise on American democracy, written by a young French aristocrat, have to say of any relevance to us about our communities and what it means for them to work well? Far more than I thought possible. That’s a big claim to make, and as I write these words I can’t help feeling surprised at the thought. This was the book that had the greatest impact on the way I related to the people around me.
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