America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

-Tocqueville, Democracy in America

In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville came from France to study American institutions. This study led him to observe why representative democracy was succeeding in the United States while failing in so many other places. As an outsider looking in, Tocqueville provided invaluable insight that has become a cornerstone of political thought both in United States and abroad.

Eerily prophetic, Democracy in America is the fundamental text through which we understand both the weaknesses and strengths of American democracy.

Democracy in America is even one of those rare books, as one observer put it, that ‘explains us to ourselves.’ 

We will be reading volumes 1 and 2 over two quarters, from October 1st – March 25th.   

The content of the book concerns political philosophy. While we are in an election/inaugural season – and in a real way forms something of the interest we have in reading this boo – we are serious about exercising a certain respectful distance from debates concerning current politics, while in conversation at the table.