But if you hold it to be expedient to divert the moral
and intellectual activity of man to the production
of comfort, and to the acquirement of the necessaries
of life; if a clear understanding be more profitable
to man than genius; if your object be not to stimulate
the virtues of heroism, but to create habits of peace;
if you had rather witness vices than crimes and are
content to meet with fewer noble deeds, provided offences
be diminished in the same proportion; if, instead of
living in the midst of a brilliant state of society,
you are contented to have prosperity around you; if,
in short, you are of opinion that the principal object
of a Government is not to confer the greatest possible
share of power and of glory upon the body of the nation,
but to ensure the greatest degree of enjoyment and
the least degree of misery to each of the individuals
who compose it—if such be your desires,
you can have no surer means of satisfying them than
by equalizing the conditions of men, and establishing
democratic institutions.
But if the time be passed at which such a choice was
possible, and if some superhuman power impel us towards
one or the other of these two governments without
consulting our wishes, let us at least endeavor to
make the best of that which is allotted to us; and
let us so inquire into its good and its evil propensities
as to be able to foster the former and repress the
latter to the utmost.
Chapter XV: Unlimited Power Of Majority, And Its Consequences—Part I
Chapter Summary
Natural strength of the majority in democracies—Most
of the American Constitutions have increased this
strength by artificial means—How this has
been done—Pledged delegates—Moral
power of the majority—Opinion as to its
infallibility—Respect for its rights, how
augmented in the United States.
Unlimited Power Of The Majority In The United States,
And Its Consequences
The very essence of democratic government consists
in the absolute sovereignty of the majority; for there
is nothing in democratic States which is capable of
resisting it. Most of the American Constitutions
have sought to increase this natural strength of the
majority by artificial means. a
[Footnote a: We observed, in examining the Federal
Constitution, that the efforts of the legislators
of the Union had been diametrically opposed to the
present tendency. The consequence has been that
the Federal Government is more independent in its
sphere than that of the States. But the Federal
Government scarcely ever interferes in any but external
affairs; and the governments of the State are in the
governments of the States are in reality the authorities
which direct society in America.]
Copyrights
Democracy in America — Volume 1 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.
