On the art of the legislator in Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America'

This dissertation demonstrates that the art of the legislator is the organizing principle (the pensee mere or idee-mere) of Democracy in America. Alexis de Tocqueville intended to teach the art of the legislator by writing Democracy in America. The best way to understand Democracy in America is, therefore, from the perspective of the art of the legislator.;A close textual analysis indicates that the ultimate end of the art of the legislator is to encourage the development of that greatness of soul and body which is necessary to produce greatness in a nation; even liberty is regarded as a means to the development of greatness. This art first requires that the legislator distinguish the advantageous from the disadvantageous natural inclinations of the social state of the nation in question. For example, an aristocratic social state naturally tends to emphasize the needs of the soul while neglecting the needs of the body; in contrast, a democratic social state naturally tends to emphasize the needs of the body while neglecting the needs of the soul. If the natural inclinations of either social state were allowed to develop unchecked, one aspect or the other of human nature would naturally be developed at the expense of the other. But art of the legislator then shows how to preserve political liberty and encourage the development of human greatness by creating a "restraining obstacle" to counterbalance the "natural vice" peculiar to each social state. Such a restraining obstacle must consist of social habits (les moeurs), laws, and political institutions. While laws and political institutions are indispensable, Tocqueville shows that social habits should be the primary concern of the legislator because social habits are indispensable to support laws and political institutions.;In a democracy, Tocqueville suggests, the majority of the people are the legislator, and so it is they who must apply the art of the legislator. In order to preserve liberty and promote the development of human greatness, they must choose to educate themselves in such a way as to restrain themselves from the characteristic natural vice of democracy, namely, the tendency toward majority tyranny.