Tocqueville: The Principle Of The Republic

While things in political regimes continue to change, they still remain monotonous because the constitutional dogma doesn’t change. Primary laws such as the Constitution remain stagnant, but secondary laws are constantly changing. People make the mistake that when they see secondary laws they think it can lead to revolution, but Tocqueville says the principle of the republic is solid and impossible to replace. Although a democratic society is always changing, that does not mean it is in the grip of an endless revolution. Modern revolutions, he believed, are the byproduct of the drive for equality. Because most democratic societies have already achieved that condition of equality, revolutionary upheavals are rare.
Tocqueville believed as citizens naturally gravitated towards equality, how the government implements policy would also need to change along with it. Some governments changed slightly, while others would require outright revolutions. The manner in which our government’s frameworks were constructed …show more content…
Tocqueville noticed this, but feared not for the Constitution supports this character of self-government by channeling its energy. What would worry Tocqueville more is if the minority was being trampled by the majority, because it would create revolutionary passions. The pinnacle idea of democratic government is to be fully popular, that is to uphold the will of the whole people and not just of the majority. The principles of the Constitution are seen throughout American society in freedom and equality. These principles allow the mutability of our laws and public affairs as a society that is being governed and yet still emits a sense of self-government. This characterizes the American democratic political regime as always changing, but at the same time, not changing at