Beyond Tocqueville?

• In Event: The Transcendence of Freedom

Abstract

Political philosophers and citizens must return to Tocqueville’s liberalism in order to see with greater clarity both the promise and perils of liberal democracy. But in the spirit of Tocqueville, this return must be tentative and experimental. Tocqueville himself stated that his intent was not to dogmatically tell readers what to think, but to illuminate certain truths and to allow his readers to discover truths for themselves. The contemporary problems facing liberal democracy can only be answered by the living, not the dead. Ultimately, political philosophers must go beyond Tocqueville. A crucial element of what this means is questioning the very foundations of his liberalism. Did Tocqueville fully understand the foundation of liberalism itself? Was Tocqueville right about the origin of our modern problems? Is his liberalism the most appropriate for our time? These questions, among others, are those which Tocquevillian scholars most begin to face.

Author

• Raúl Rodriguez