{"title":"Alexis de Tocqueville","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"democracy-in-america","title":"Democracy in America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished in two parts in 1835 and 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDemocracy in America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is one of the most penetrating examinations of democratic society ever written. Travelling through the United States in the early 1830s with his friend Gustave de Beaumont, the young French aristocrat set out to study the American prison system, but found himself captivated by a far larger question: how equality was transforming the habits, ambitions and political life of an entire nation. With the eye of a traveller and the precision of a political thinker, Tocqueville explores the institutions of the young republic, the vitality of its local communities, the influence of religion and the complex relationship between liberty and the will of the majority. His observations range from the practical workings of government to the private lives and everyday assumptions of ordinary citizens.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNeither an uncritical celebration of America nor a simple warning against democracy, the book is distinguished by its remarkable ability to perceive freedom’s vulnerabilities alongside its promise. Tocqueville feared that equality, for all its emancipatory power, might encourage conformity, weaken independent judgement and leave individuals increasingly dependent on an all-powerful state. His reflections on public opinion, individualism and the tyranny of the majority have proved strikingly durable, extending far beyond the nineteenth-century republic he observed. A cornerstone of political philosophy and social thought, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDemocracy in America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e remains an indispensable companion for anyone seeking to understand the possibilities and contradictions of democratic life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“I readily discovered the prodigious influence which this primary fact exercises on the whole course of society, by giving a certain direction to public opinion, and a certain tenor to the laws.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Alexis de Tocqueville, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDemocracy in America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDemocracy in America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Arguably the most perceptive and influential book ever written about American politics and society.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Library of America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardner's EU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64026788593994,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"the-old-regime-and-the-revolution","title":"The Old Regime and the Revolution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished in 1856, Alexis de Tocqueville’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Old Regime and the Revolution\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e investigates the paradox at the heart of modern French history: how a revolution proclaimed in the name of liberty and equality emerged from a society whose institutions had already begun to undermine the old order. Drawing on administrative records, historical documents and a close reading of French political life, Tocqueville traces the centralisation of power under the monarchy, the erosion of local independence and the growing separation between the governing classes and the people. Rather than treating 1789 as an isolated explosion, he reveals the long continuities between the royal state and the revolutionary government that followed it. The result is a searching portrait of a nation approaching transformation while remaining bound by habits and structures inherited from its past.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLeft unfinished at his death, the book stands among Tocqueville’s most penetrating works of political history, extending the questions of liberty, equality and centralised authority that animate \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDemocracy in America\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. His argument challenges the comforting idea that revolutions simply sweep away the institutions they oppose, suggesting instead that they often intensify tendencies already present within the old order. Both a study of eighteenth-century France and a broader meditation on how political systems change, it remains illuminating for readers concerned with bureaucracy, social privilege and the fragile relationship between freedom and the state. Tocqueville writes not merely to explain the Revolution, but to understand why its consequences continue to shape modern political life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the book\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The most perilous moment for a bad government is one when it seeks to mend its ways.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— Alexis de Tocqueville, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Old Regime and the Revolution\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Old Regime and the Revolution\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“The best book ever written on the French Revolution.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e— François Furet, French historian\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardner's EU","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64026815365450,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}]}],"url":"https:\/\/thelamppostparis.com\/fr\/collections\/alexis-de-tocqueville.oembed","provider":"The Lamp-Post Library \u0026 Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}