The problem of being equal

Linh Do

8682188

POL2108B winter 2018

Democracy is the most fundamental principle of the modern western world. But while most

liberal thinkers agree that democracy in its core is beneficial, they recognize that it is far from

perfect. The inevitable triumph of democracy can lead to hard-to-see, undesirable consequences.

Alexis de Tocqueville’s critical examination of democracy and equality in nineteenth century

America is still relevant in the western world today as it was then in America. What are the main

problems with an egalitarian society? The gradual loss of freedom, mass mediocrity, and

excessive individualism are among the problems facing liberal democratic society in the age of

universal equality and market capitalism.

Men in the democratic age will exchange liberty for equality. The equality of condition ensures

that each person is entitled to basic rights, needs, and wants. People will be too occupied with

primal desires and are willing to give up their rights just to see that those desires are met, through

the institution of social welfare. People want a form of soft despotism which provides them with

constant comfort. In such situation, however, they are not encouraged to think critically for

themselves, and is it easy for men of democratic age to fall for a strong man who serves as

intellectual leader, a role that used to belong to the church before the secular age. Men of the

democratic age, too busy with achieving material wealth, remain uneducated in public matters.

This intellectual deficiency among the public creates a vacuum which is filled by a small ruling

elite class. This will lead to an increasingly unfree society in the process. Men become

domesticated and concern themselves primarily with pursuit of animal comfort. Excessive

consumerism turns people into animals that seek constant gratification over freedom. Society

tyrannizes over itself and people essentially elect their own master. The capacity for social

change is limited since the public is not intelligent enough. The centralization of power in a
democratic government in the name of efficiency, especially the executive branch, can also lead

to tyranny. Liberty can easily be lost, and it requires great effort and constant renovation to

maintain: “Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free, but nothing is harder to learn

how to use than freedom.” (Tocqueville, 2003, 108) The equality of condition and majority rule

can result in either liberty or tyranny, and the latter is more likely if things left untouched.

The condition of equality can lead to tyranny of the majority. Since everyone can partake in

decision making and care about their own interest, they are likely to do so at the expense of

others’, especially that of minority groups. The public could be misled by a tyrant or

intentionally discriminate against a specific minority group for their own benefit. The rule of

public opinion is intolerance of any view except its own. Even without being influenced by

political leaders or intentionally doing harm, a society based on pluralism as a whole sometime

makes mistake which harm a minority group. Tyranny can exist in what appear to be a

democratic institution: “He who in given cases consents to obey his fellows with servility, and

who submits his will, and even his thoughts, to their control, how can he pretend that he wishes

to be free?” (Tocqueville, 2003, 45) Equality of condition does not extend to material wealth and

does not prevent the rich from taking advantage of the poor. The division between rich and poor

and between different races becomes solidified with the more advantage oppress the less

advantage. As long as an unjust action is in accordance with the will of the majority, it is

justified. In order to prevent tyranny, there has to be the freedom to speak one’s mind without the

fear of public persecution. Freedom of association is also important to prevent the tyranny of

majority. Democratic principles can lead to enslavement if not examined carefully, as seen in the

institutionalization of slavery in America at the time. Tocqueville, while noting that America
achieved the condition of equality better than any other regime, concluded that is at the same

time less free and less culturally developed.

One of the consequences of equality of condition is the loss of high culture. Democratic society

becomes homogenous and this prevents the emergence of great creative minds. Equality of rights

does not extend to intellectual capacity, which is necessary for the development of art and

science. True different opinions are gradually lost since everyone essential thinks the same and

engages in the same activity, namely the search for material comfort. The old social arrangement

of aristocracy and patronage was the key for the development of the art and high culture. In the

past, the privileged nobles had the leisure time and financial capacity to support great artists and

great work of arts. Commerce has now became the noblest pursuit, not art and culture. Ordinary

citizens of the democratic age, acquainted themselves with the search for happiness in the form

of materialism, lack the time to develop themselves culturally. Tocqueville wrote: “Nothing is

more necessary to the culture of the higher sciences, or of the more elevated departments of

science, than meditation; and nothing is less suited to meditation than the structure of democratic

society.” (Tocqueville, 2003, 235) The successful businessman replaces the aristocrat as the new

elite, but their primary concern is profit and material goods, not art and culture. Society will

concern itself with the satisfaction of unlimited consumer demands. The world of business is

based on speed and number, not quality and depth. The art of money-making has replaced the art

of thinking. Art, philosophy, and the humanities will slowly be diminished in the age of

egalitarianism and pluralism.

The pluralized social condition of a democratic society forms mass opinion, which is reflected in

every aspect of that society, especially in education, the media, and politics. Significant cultural

changes and progress will no longer be possible. There is no significant differences among the

ruling class, the politicians. Everyone believes in the same set of principles, unable to produce

meaningful changes. The struggle for recognition, self-sacrifice for purely abstract goal and

idealism will be replaced by economic calculation. All news channels essentially report the same

news through the same lenses, and schools becomes factories that mass produce future workers.

Throughout history, social progress has been the work of exceptional individuals. These

individuals are the one who bring changes by challenging the convention, posing competing

opinions that produce new ideas. Equality of condition is a hindrance to cultural advancement

since it takes away individuality, which is necessary for progress. Equality makes society

become more and more homogenous and discourages public discourses. This is harmful for

progress since exceptional individual can no longer exist in such environment, an environment

where all opinions are alike. Tocqueville remarked: “I do not know if the people of the United

States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men

do not run.” (Tocqueville, 2003, 89) Freedom of expression, therefore, is important for progress

since it enables creative individuals to express their view. Changes also require each individual

to develop themselves intellectually, unaffected by majority opinion. These things are becoming

increasingly difficult to find in modern democratic society, a society which has evolved into a

form of mass mediocrity. This mediocrity in the democratic age extends to the relationship

among people.
Democracy leads to excessive individualism and atomism. Democratic man will help others if it

doesn’t undermine his own interest. The feeling of envy toward others’ financial success has

replaced the respect toward fellow citizen. Traditional social and political born were lost in the

modern democratic age. Each modern man concerns himself with himself and his family only,

losing sight of society at large in the process. Individual may need the help of others, but they

always put their interests first. In the future, no one will be willing to die for a common course or

a shared idea. Individualism creates the want for basic material comfort, which in turn leads to

even more individualistic behaviour due to the quest for wealth. The search for material comfort,

combines with scarcity of resources, lead to competition among men and create the contempt for

others: “I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken a stronger hold on the

affections of men.” (Tocqueville, 2003, 262) The most talented member of society all take part in

search for wealth and turned away from public life and the common good. The focus on abstract

equality, the notion that a rational thinker comes before and separate from society, a trend in

liberal thought, is the chief cause for this problem. The excessive belief in one’s reason can lead

to violence and outcomes that are disastrous to the public. Radical social and political ideals

which nominally elevated the individual above the rest of society can lead to disaster like during

the terror phase of the French revolution.

Democratic man becomes increasingly atomized, alienated, and devoid of a common purpose.

Atomism in modern society creates the need for connection, which charismatic autocratic ruler

often provide with their populist ideology. The isolated individual needs something to identify

themselves with in the search for identity, which pave the way for tyranny. The proper role of

local institution then is to turn selfish individuals into patriotic, caring ones. Moral obligations
should be derived from the common goal of society, not from just the goal of individual:

“Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist,

but a social body does not. Thus in order that there be society, and all the more, that this society

prosper, it is necessary that all the minds of the citizens always be brought together and held

together by some principle ideas.” (Tocqueville, 2003, 35) The preservation of constitutional

government depends on institutions capable of reintegrating individuals into the habits and

traditions of the larger political order. Traditional social bond such as religion in the old regime

should be placed with something else in the new democratic regime. It is therefore important to

reinforce the dependency of each individual on other citizen, not the abstract notion of equality

and liberty. The democratic revolution, based on enlightenment principles of equality and

tolerance, is starting to undermine its very own foundation. Each man is supposed to care for

other man because he now sees him as equal being, however, he thinks more about himself and

his wealth than anything else. Personal wealth has replaced the common good as the instrument

for happiness.

While equality and democracy are desirable and should be cherished, they should be examined

carefully. Tocqueville showed that the equality of condition, evidenced in America at the time of

his writing, can be negative and even undermine democracy itself. The not-so-inherent loss of

individual liberty, the deficiency in cultural development, and the isolation of the individual from

the community are the main problems facing a democratic society. It is up to the people of the

modern age to decide if equality of condition lead to freedom or tyranny, to the excellence or to

the mediocre.
 References

Cahn, S. M. (2011). Political philosophy: the essential texts. New York: Oxford University

Press.

Tocqueville, A. D., Bevan, G. E., & Kramnick, I. (2003). Democracy in America and two essays

on America. London: Penguin Books.