Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'democracy in america'

March 15, 2017

‘Instruction by which we may profit’: A guide to reading Tocqueville’s ‘Democracy in America’ (Part 1)

When Alexis de Tocqueville authored Democracy in America, a two-volume treatment of America, he wrote it “to find there instruction by which we ourselves may profit.” By “we,” Tocqueville was referring to his fellow Frenchmen, but although he may have written those words in 1835, we as Americans of the 21st century also have plenty to profit from Tocqueville’s wisdom, if we’ll but receive it. Continue Reading...
March 08, 2017

Radio Free Acton: James Poulos on the art of being free

On this edition of Radio Free Acton, we welcome back John Wilsey – Assistant Professor of History and Christian Apologetics and Associate Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary – and hand over the reins of the podcast to him as he talks with author and social theorist James Poulos about his new book, The Art of Being Free: How Alexis de Tocqueville Can Save Us from Ourselves. Continue Reading...
January 22, 2017

Samuel Gregg on Tocqueville and democracy’s fall in America

‘Democracy in America’ by Alexis de Tocqueville is a 19th century book that serves as a guide to explain how the American political system has evolved into its current state. In this book, Tocqueville describes what he noticed about American democracy when he traveled through the country in 1831.   Continue Reading...
February 28, 2014

Samuel Gregg on ‘Exorcising Latin America’s Demons’

Venezuela has been at the top of the news lately because of violnent demonstrations and government abuses (for background on the situation in Venezuela, check out Joe Carter’s post). Director of research at Acton, Samuel Gregg, has written a special report at The American Spectator commentating on Venezuela as well as Latin America as a whole: Given Venezuela’s ongoing meltdown and the visible decline in the fortunes of Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner, one thing has become clear. Continue Reading...