Summary Of An Enemy Of The People And Tocqueville

In An Enemy of the People and Democracy in America, Ibsen and Tocqueville make it clear they believe that the masses hold far more power than most perceive. Tocqueville spends his time dissecting the body and limbs of democracy to try and find what is animating them, pinpointing the masses. The soul of the country, in his eyes and those of Ibsen, is the majority; governing in the name of the people composed of peaceable citizens who wish the welfare of the country. They are, however, surrounded by the incessant agitation of parties trying to get the people’s support (Tocqueville 167). Ibsen also points out both the constant petitioning of political individuals and the power they are apt to receive or be stripped of by the oblivious masses. Tocqueville voices his fear of the public, their ability to control and force conformity a dangerous threat to the real freedom and liberty for which they stand. Ibsen emphasizes the …show more content…
The issue that is also found in Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People is the preponderance of legislative power. Because the legislature is the most representative of the will of the people, democracies tend to lend it the most power. This proves to be an issue if there are not sufficient checks on the influence of the people; the masses can easily become unintentionally tyrannical. For example, if a president wishes to be elected for a second term or even stay in power for a full term, he loses his ability to make independent decisions. If he goes against the masses, then they can use their influence to keep him out of power, and thus he loses all individual thought and must speak only for the masses (Tocqueville 114). This is an abuse of power that Tocqueville fears from the public and he finds examples throughout the history of