French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, the man who understood the bases of American democracy better than any man in history, spent July 4, 1831 — America’s Independence Day — in Albany, New York, amused, slightly condescending — and profoundly moved. He marched with a mixture of citizen militias and trade associations in a solemn parade through town to, of all incongruous places to celebrate the secular nation’s independence, a church.

He found the formal speech commemorating the day, delivered by a local lawyer, a banal series of “rhetorical commonplaces.” But the crowds’ palpable dedication to the principles of individual freedom, and the reading of the Declaration of Independence, stunned him. “It was as though an electric current moved through the hearts of everyone there. It was in no way a theatrical performance. In this reading of the promises of independence … there was something profoundly felt and truly great.”

Today, as America nears its 250th anniversary, 69% of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, 59% believe “America’s best years are behind us,” and 57% fear that the country is on the path to civil war.

For Tocqueville, four distinct elements of American history and society explained how America became the world’s exemplary democracy. First, the founding Americans were fortunate, for they created a society without the constraints of a feudal past or an entrenched aristocracy, with almost no barriers from birth on any individual, in an almost infinite and “empty” land. As the Declaration of Independence put it, “All men are created equal.”

Third, crucially, the Puritans possessed or developed, in their isolated yet largely equal circumstances, what Tocqueville called “enlightened self-interest.” This is the natural pursuit of one’s self-interest, while exercising enough self-restraint for one’s actions to contribute to broader social benefit.

Many Americans, however, now perceive Tocqueville’s enlightened self-interest, the strengths of local government and even democracy itself as inefficient, failed or lost. Tocqueville would find that individualism has, as he anticipated, deteriorated into selfishness, that individuals now feel they and society lack purpose, and that community has splintered into communitarian squabbling. Nearly 40% of Americans are now open to authoritarian leadership, agreeing that the nation needs a leader willing to “break some rules” to set things right.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

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