Alexis de Tocqueville - the tyranny of the majority

May 30, 2009, 02:18 PM
Prof. William R. Cook describes Tocquevilles experiences as described in Democracy in America. "The omnipotence of the majority appears to me such a great peril for the American republic's that the dangerous means used to limit it seem to me even a good"



Also see the blog, "Forms of Government, Are we a republic or a democracy?"
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=17942524&postID=4372279570392574039

"This constitution is truly republican, and forms a splendid era in the history of man." -- Noah Webster

"Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos." -- Chief Justice John Marshall

"...[O]ur sages in the great [constitutional] convention... intended our government should be a republic which differs more widely from a democracy than a democracy from a despotism.  The rigours of a despotism often... oppress only a few, but it is the very essence and nature of a democracy, for a faction claiming to oppress a minority, and that minority the chief owners of the property and truest lovers of their country." -- Fisher Ames (1758-1808), American statesman, orator and political writer, Source: 1805

"Democracy:
Involves the government ruling and making laws for the "greater good" of all people, they may abolish personal rights in doing so.  Democracy is government by and for the people.  They may or may not be republics--that is, government limited by constitution or charter.  The tricky part of "democracy" is defining "the people" and then deciding what counts as "by the people" and what counts as "for the people."  In a sense, that could be considered the content of democratic practice.
Republic:
Involves the government using and abiding by the constitution heavily.  Personal rights are respected and cannot be taken away.  This helps to avoid tyranny and mobocracy (the majority makes laws and governs by passion, prejudice, or impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences.)  Republics are the common and "standard" type of governments found today, not democracies, despite what many people (who may not know the definition of either) think.  Just as democracies may or may not be republics, republics may or may not be democracies. 
The difference between Democracy and Republic:
Democracy and Republic are two forms of government which are distinguished by their treatment of the Minority, and the Individual, by the Majority.  In a Democracy, the Majority has unlimited power over the Minority.  This system of government does not provide a legal safeguard of the rights of the Individual and the Minority.  It has been referred to as "Majority over Man."  In a Republic, the Majority is Limited and constrained by a written Constitution which protects the rights of the Individual and the Minority.  The purpose of a Republic form of government is to control the Majority and to protect the God-given, inalienable rights and liberty of the Individual.

The United States of America is a Republic.
source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_difference_between_a_republic_and_a_democracy

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