Illuminating or Blinding? An Examination of Tocqueville’s Conceptions of Liberty and Equality

Authors

Andrew Bellis, Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Class Year

2014

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Spring 2014

Department 1

Political Science

Abstract

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America has served for centuries as one of the foundational works on American government. This in turn has led to many readers accepting the prescriptive statements made about democratic governments. This paper seeks to examine Democracy in America to develop a precise understanding of Tocqueville’s definitions of liberty and equality. Upon arriving at a definition, this paper will then examine democracies past and present in order to determine whether or not Tocqueville’s definitions are the most desirable for a modern democracy.

Comments

POL 467 - Political Science Honors Thesis

Copyright Note

This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.

Recommended Citation

Bellis, Andrew, "Illuminating or Blinding? An Examination of Tocqueville’s Conceptions of Liberty and Equality" (2014). Student Publications. 215.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/215