The 60 Second Update

with Dr. Paul Rahe

5. What are the most important lessons we can learn from Rousseau, Tocqueville, & Montesquieu?

The most important thing to learn is that the species of liberty peculiar to modern liberal democracy is exceedingly fragile and that the political psychology of liberal democratic man – the inquiétude to which he is prone – can easily lead him to abandon that liberty for a false promise of security. When Tocqueville visited the United States of America in the 1830s, he found there an antidote for inquiétude. Government in the United States was decentralized. There was, to begin with, federalism – but within the states there were townships and counties as well. And most Americans lived their lives in this restricted sphere, which was on a human scale. Within these townships and counties, they could participate in self-governance, and they faced crises in this setting with the help of their families, neighbors, and friends. Moreover, from participation in local self-government, they learned the art of association; and, instead of looking to the state or the federal government for help, they helped themselves by working through private associations founded for public purposes. Instead of feeling helpless, they felt empowered. Instead of being subjects, they were citizens. Moreover, Tocqueville’s Americans were religious. When it came to morals, they were not at sea. They knew right from wrong; they were anchored, not adrift. This, too, secured them from inquiétude. Finally, they had strong marriages, and domestic tranquility was a further fence against inquiétude. We need to recover a measure of local autonomy, to reinvigorate civil society, and to restore the central place within the United States once occupied by church, synagogue, and family.

Question 1. What is "soft despotism" and why should it worry us?