View source for Modernism in Politics

In the collection titled ''Americanism; New Perspectives on the History of an Ideal'', Rob Kroes presents his thoughts on the making of America and the three main components: politics, humanism, and existentialism.  In terms of politics, Kroes emphasizes the importance of Alexis de Tocqueville's ''Democracy in America'' and the way in which it shaped the primary view of American democracy.  Kroes says, “[Tocqueville] turns America into an ideal-type for democracy with a view to gaining more general insights into the workings of democracy irrespective of its precise historical setting” (Americanism 224).  Tocqueville’s insight into the workings of American politics molded not only French and European ideas of democracy, but also American ideas.  Kroes, in some ways, praises Tocqueville by saying:

“Yet, according to Tocqueville, the true American genius that could account for the stability of its republican order was not political; it was social.  The pluralism of its social life, the freedom it allowed Americans to engage in manifold associations, was the key to understanding America’s political stability.  This view made Tocqueville a father of modern political sociology.  But at the same time it made clear what was truly modern about America, which Tocqueville saw as a society whose central organizational vectors were freedom and equality” (Americanism 224).

Even though not an American citizen, Tocqueville was able to comprehend the workings of American politics and display a future of modern democracy.



Kroes, Rob. "French Views of American Modernity. From Text to Subtext." ''Americanism; New Perspectives on the History of an Ideal.'' Ed. Michael Kazin and Joseph A. McCartin. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press: 2006. 221-241.