Anxiety In The Era Of Democracy

The era in which Tocqueville is located is not only magnificent but also full of uncertainties.The old system marked by royal autocracy and a centralization system had collapsed,and a democratic society centered on freedom,equality,and popular sovereign was on the rise.At the beginning of this era of democracy,who came from aristocrats and witnessed the social ideological trends and political changes in the aftermath of the French Revolution,Tocqueville developed sensitivity and anxiety about the tensions of equality and freedom influenced by the“1820s Great Debate"Tocqueville's political thinking regards the centralization system as an important node of tensions between equality and freedom.He examined the mechanism and political influence of the centralization system in the old system and democratic society,analyzed the individuality manifested in transitional society and normal society which based on the equality and democracy,and proposed a solution to the individuality crisis and the predicament of the centralization system.This article uses the "comprehensive political culture" and its opposites to summarize the ideological and political backgrounds before and after the French Revolution,thus entering Tocqueville's problem consciousness.Tocqueville divided concentration of powers into "governmental centralization" and "administrative centralization".The former is the unity of legislative power that addresses only national affairs rather than local affairs.The latter refers to central administrative agencies which perform local administrative powers and establish a hierarchy.He believed that the single "administrative centralization" and the combination of two types of centralization will be harmful to political freedom.Tocqueville supported"governmental centralization" to fulfill the requirements of comprehensive politics to unite citizens and unite order in order to oppose "administrative centralization" to resist the the homogeneity society created by comprehensive politics,thereby resolved the beneficial and harmful aspects of comprehensive politics and established a theoretical space for decentralization which redefined the sovereignty of the people,found the protection of political freedom in tensions between equality and freedom.Based on the two types of centralization,this paper considers that the centralization system in the"The ancient Regime and the French Revolution" is generalized centralization in the sense of a combination of "government centralization" and "administrative centralization".This centralization system broken down the French society with the role of "guardian",prompted the aristocracy to become a caste,formed a homogenized society and people as a whole with a lack of intermediate,and shaped people's "collective individualism" values,the people's preference for equality was better than freedom.Resentment among all classes kept them from being able to restrict the power of the government,or assist the government when necessary.The "literary politics" and the judicial incompetence under the centralization system formed a revolutionary education for the people and influenced the characteristics of the later French RevolutionThe two volumes of "Democracy in America" presented the view that Tocqueville foresaw that democratic societies naturally favor a centralization system,that is,the trend of social equality will strengthen,and individualism will turn against the development of public life and the development of citizen morality.Egoism and materialism led the people to rely on a centralization system to form a "mild despotism".It also analyzed the political dilemma brought by the centralization system in the democratic society,that is,the government has once again become a"guardian" and political freedom has disappeared.Tocqueville also proposed two ways to avoid centralization and individualism.The first is "the doctrine of interest well understood" and "dogmatic beliefs" for individual correction,and the other is local decentralization,township autonomy,limited freedom of association,limited freedom of public opinion and publishing right to preserve political freedom and thus construct his ideal democratic social stateTocqueville's centralization thought aims to deal with the tensions between equality and freedom in the era of democracy;and takes the formation,influence,and solution of the centralization system as the framework.Tocqueville's individuality rectification for the democrats confirmed reasonable individualism that should have the responsibility of publicity,he believed that the value of freedom should not be overshadowed by the value of equality,but should also pursue freedom in public life while passing through the state and the individual.Intermediaries guarantee political freedom and form a benign political-social relationship.Eventually,freedom and equality were settled in the era of democracy.