In his book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville lists five values that ensured the success of America's constitutional republic. These values are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire. Liberty refers to freedom of choice, so long as the choices one makes do not limit the freedom of others. Egalitarianism is the belief of equality in opportunity, and individualism is the freedom of individuals to pursue their own goals. Populism refers to democratic values, the...
In his book Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville lists five values that ensured the success of America's constitutional republic. These values are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire. Liberty refers to freedom of choice, so long as the choices one makes do not limit the freedom of others. Egalitarianism is the belief of equality in opportunity, and individualism is the freedom of individuals to pursue their own goals. Populism refers to democratic values, the belief that ordinary people rather than elites should be in control of government decision making. Finally, laissez-faire is defined as an economic system in which government interference in the market is minimal. In his writing, de Tocqueville does not single out a particular value as being more important than the rest. However, it would be possible to argue that either egalitarianism or populism are crucial to ensure equitable access to the benefits of the other values; if ordinary people were not granted equal opportunity and the right to participate in their society, the values of individualism, liberty, and laissez-faire could be limited to an elite class.
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