Liberty in Democracy or Liberty in Aristocracy: Which Combination is Feasible?

Alexis de Tocqueville views the early to middle of the 19th century as a period of great revolutionary transition from age of aristocracy to the democratic era. In Democracy In America, Tocqueville’s project, in turn, was to conceptualize the democratic institutional and cultural factors that would secure a democratic society that was also marked by liberty. This paper will examine whether or not Tocqueville succeeded or even could succeed in this task. To accomplish this, I will examine his argument alongside two competing perspectives. The first maintains that aristocracy is an important (if not necessary) supporting condition for liberty. This view can be found in the work of Lord Maculy, Edmund Burke, James Fenimore Cooper, and Lord Acton. The second maintains that freedom is best realized and secured by democracy. Variants of this alternative view can be seen in the arguments of Abraham Lincoln, Herbert Croly, John Dewey, and contemporary deliberative democratic theorists like Jurgen Habermas and John Dryzek. Given the diverse nature of the above-mentioned thinkers, I will carefully consider the relevant connotations of liberty, democracy, aristocracy, and other terms being employed.