Autor: John Farina

Abstract:

Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic, Démocratie en Amérique, is often viewed as an endorsement of democracy as lived in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Over against that view are scholars who point to Tocqueville’s forebodings about the deleterious effects of democracy on the social fabric. In that latter reading, democracy destroys the bonds of community through its never-ending quest for freedom and equality. The result is a society of isolated individuals that become easy prey for tyrants. In this paper I shall argue that the negative reading of Tocqueville should be taken seriously, especially when applying his insights to the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. But to see only Tocqueville’s worries is to ignore his larger conclusion that the only forces that can effectively prevent the social demise of democracies are those institutions that promote salutary “habits of the heart,” chief among which is religion. I shall evaluate several of the salient claims about the role of religion in democratic societies and ask about their applicability specifically in those emerging democracies.

ISSN: 0870-5283; 2183-461X

DOI: http://doi.org/10.17990/RPF/2016_72_1_0041

Texto Completo: https://www.publicacoesfacfil.pt/product.php?id_product=853

Palavras-Chave: Alexis de Tocqueville,democracy,philosophy of