Democracy in America

Tocqueville argues that it is an oversimplification to argue that democratization leads to a uniform or “common existence” as differences in opinion and preference will persist (577). He points out that he met many Americans but “never heard anyone claim that all of them should be brought to amuse themselves in the same manner or to enjoy themselves when intermingled in the same places” (577). Instead of developing universal amusements, Americans gather in small groups in private life to entertain and amuse themselves. Where aristocrats divide themselves with “immovable barriers,” American society relies on “small, almost invisible threads that are broken at every moment and are constantly changed from place to place” (578). American distinctions are cast as less rigid but no less real, and as an inevitable consequence of human behavior that democracy can change but not eradicate.

As he reflects on manners, Tocqueville notes that democracies tend to have less coherent ones, as there are no particular consequences to defying social codes. Democratic manners, such as they are, are not used to “adorn the natural and conceal it” as aristocratic behavior codes are (580). Aristocratic manners are a rapid casualty of the fall of