What does Tocqueville say about revolution?
“The regime that a revolution destroys is almost always better than the one that immediately preceded it, and experience teaches that the most dangerous time for a bad government is usually when it begins to reform.”
What was Alexis de Tocqueville known for?
Alexis de Tocqueville is best known for Democracy in America, which he wrote after spending 10 months of 1831 and 1832 in the United States on a mission from France to study American prisons (then considered progressive).
Why was Alexis de Tocqueville important?
French sociologist and political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) traveled to the United States in 1831 to study its prisons and returned with a wealth of broader observations that he codified in “Democracy in America” (1835), one of the most influential books of the 19th century.
What does Tocqueville say was the main point of French Revolution?
Tocqueville argued the importance of the French Revolution was to continue the process of modernizing and centralizing the French state which had begun under King Louis XIV. He believed the failure of the Revolution came from the inexperience of the deputies who were too wedded to abstract Enlightenment ideals.
What did Tocqueville say about the French Revolution of 1848?
The Revolution of 1848 brought about a new political situation for France and for Tocqueville. Having decried apathy as the chief danger for France, Tocqueville recognized even before the revolution that France was faced with a politically awakened working class that might well propel French politics into socialist and revolutionary channels.
What does Tocqueville stand for?
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (French: ; 29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (/ ˈtɒkvɪl, ˈtoʊk -/), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian.
When did Tocqueville write democracy in America?
Democracy in America was published after Tocqueville’s travels in the United States and is today considered an early work of sociology and political science . Tocqueville was active in French politics, first under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) and then during the Second Republic (1849–1851) which succeeded the February 1848 Revolution.
What did Tocqueville die of?
A longtime sufferer from bouts of tuberculosis, Tocqueville would eventually succumb to the disease on 16 April 1859 and was buried in the Tocqueville cemetery in Normandy.