From Democracy to Despotism: Tocqueville on Slavery, Colonialism, and “Other”

Abstract

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was born in 1805 to a noble family in Verneuil. He belonged to an aristocratic family dating back to the 15th century. He is known mostly as far-seeing thinker and politician. After his US sojourn, Tocqueville published a study on the young American democracy called Democracy in America, which put him on the map during and after his lifetime. He was actively involved with the various political and social problems of his day, such as colonization, slavery and inequality. His analyses on the transitivity between democracy and despotism are very important to understand the nature of modern society. Analyses by Tocqueville of colonialism clearly put forth why the modern society needs an “other” and violence to legitimize itself. He considers colonialism as a complementary element of modern society and thinks that colonial violence outside of the country is required for the prevention of despotism within the country. His contradictory opinions on colonialism and slavery do not, as it is often claimed, arise from political indecisiveness or philosophical contradiction; rather, his opinion is due to the theoretical framework of his analyses of modern society. Henceforth, the article will treat Tocqueville within the scope of his approach to the “other”, to transitivity in his analyses on despotism, colonialism, and to the nature and structure of modern society.

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