tocqueville

August 05, 2019

Letter from China: Civic virtue without freedom?

I spent most of July traveling to various parts of the People’s Republic of China. Although I made brief trips to Hong Kong in 2000 and Beijing in 2016, I have never experienced anything remotely similar to this more extended stay. Continue Reading...

June 09, 2017

What did Alexis de Tocqueville actually think?

Samuel Gregg, research director at the Acton Institute, recently published a review on the new translation of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Recollections: The French Revolution of 1848 and Its Aftermath in which Tocqueville, the “quintessential man of theory,” gets dirty about the politics of the French Revolution. Continue Reading...

May 16, 2017

The Social Capital Project: Reviving ‘associational life’ in America

Over the past few decades, America has experienced a wave of drastic economic and social disruption. In our search for solutions, we’ve tended to look either to ourselves or the State, resulting in a clash between individualism and collectivism that forgets or neglects the space between. Continue Reading...

October 05, 2016

Radio Free Acton: John Wilsey on Tocqueville’s Enduring Insights

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America is renowned as one of the best examinations of early American society and politics, and remains one of the most insightful commentaries ever written on the practice of democracy in the United States. Continue Reading...

July 15, 2016

6 thought-provoking quotes from AEI’s ‘Economic Freedom and Human Flourishing’

In considering issues of political economy today, it is always prudent to refer to wisdom from the past. The American Enterprise Institute’s recent publication “Economic Freedom and Human Flourishing: Perspectives from Political Philosophy” is a collection of essays that analyzes the thought of several prominent philosophers on the connection between the title’s two subjects. Continue Reading...

July 14, 2014

Power and the Evacuated Middle

Earlier this Spring at The Gospel Coalition I reviewed Moisés Naím’s The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being in Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be. Continue Reading...

June 27, 2014

A Cultural Case for Capitalism: Part 11 of 12 — The Challenges

[Part 1 is here.] Economic freedom does generate certain challenges. The wealth that free economies are so effective at creating brings with it temptation. Wealth can tempt us to depend on our riches rather than on God. Continue Reading...

November 21, 2012

Alexis de Tocqueville and the Character of American Education

According to a recent Pew Center report, “Record levels of bachelor’s degree attainment in 2012 are apparent for most basic demographic groups.” 33% of 25- to 29- year-olds are completing both high school and college. Continue Reading...

July 12, 2012

Review: The Second Russian Revolution (1987-1991)

This is a book review by Rev. Johannes L. Jacobse, president of the American Orthodox Institute. He blogs at AOI’s Observer. This review will appear in the forthcoming Spring 2012 Religion & Liberty. Continue Reading...

June 08, 2012

The Dangers of Democratic Tyranny

In the context of commentary on protests like those in Quebec and the Occupy movement more broadly, it’s worth reflecting on the dangers of democratic tyranny. The “people” can be tyrannical just as an individual sovereign or an oligarchy might. Continue Reading...

1 2 Next >