Thisleadsmetoalastreflection，withwhichIshallconcludethischapter。Themoreequaltheconditionsofmenbecome，andthelessstrongmenindividuallyare，themoreeasilydotheygivewaytothecurrentofthemultitude，andthemoredifficultisitforthemtoadherebythemselvestoanopinionwhichthemultitudediscard。Anewspaperrepresentsanassociation;itmaybesaidtoaddresseachofitsreadersinthenameofalltheothers，andtoexertitsinfluenceovertheminproportiontotheirindividualweakness。Thepowerofthenewspaperpressmustthereforeincreaseasthesocialconditionsofmenbecomemoreequal。
ChapterVII:ConnectionOfCivilAndPoliticalAssociationsThereisonlyonecountryonthefaceoftheearthwherethecitizensenjoyunlimitedfreedomofassociationforpoliticalpurposes。Thissamecountryistheonlyoneintheworldwherethecontinualexerciseoftherightofassociationhasbeenintroducedintocivillife，andwherealltheadvantageswhichcivilizationcanconferareprocuredbymeansofit。Inallthecountrieswherepoliticalassociationsareprohibited，civilassociationsarerare。Itishardlyprobablethatthisistheresultofaccident;buttheinferenceshouldratherbe，thatthereisanatural，andperhapsanecessary，connectionbetweenthesetwokindsofassociations。Certainmenhappentohaveacommoninterestinsomeconcern—eitheracommercialundertakingistobemanaged，orsomespeculationinmanufacturestobetried;theymeet，theycombine，andthusbydegreestheybecomefamiliarwiththeprincipleofassociation。Thegreateristhemultiplicityofsmallaffairs，themoredomen，evenwithoutknowingit，acquirefacilityinprosecutinggreatundertakingsincommon。Civilassociations，therefore，facilitatepoliticalassociation:but，ontheotherhand，politicalassociationsingularlystrengthensandimprovesassociationsforcivilpurposes。Incivillifeeverymanmay，strictlyspeaking，fancythathecanprovideforhisownwants;inpolitics，hecanfancynosuchthing。Whenapeople，then，haveanyknowledgeofpubliclife，thenotionofassociation，andthewishtocoalesce，presentthemselveseverydaytothemindsofthewholecommunity:
whatevernaturalrepugnancemayrestrainmenfromactinginconcert，theywillalwaysbereadytocombineforthesakeofaparty。Thuspoliticallifemakestheloveandpracticeofassociationmoregeneral;itimpartsadesireofunion，andteachesthemeansofcombinationtonumbersofmenwhowouldhavealwayslivedapart。
Politicsnotonlygivebirthtonumerousassociations，buttoassociationsofgreatextent。Incivillifeitseldomhappensthatanyoneinterestdrawsaverylargenumberofmentoactinconcert;muchskillisrequiredtobringsuchaninterestintoexistence:butinpoliticsopportunitiespresentthemselveseveryday。Nowitissolelyingreatassociationsthatthegeneralvalueoftheprincipleofassociationisdisplayed。Citizenswhoareindividuallypowerless，donotveryclearlyanticipatethestrengthwhichtheymayacquirebyunitingtogether;itmustbeshowntotheminordertobeunderstood。Henceitisofteneasiertocollectamultitudeforapublicpurposethanafewpersons;athousandcitizensdonotseewhatinteresttheyhaveincombiningtogether—tenthousandwillbeperfectlyawareofit。Inpoliticsmencombineforgreatundertakings;andtheusetheymakeoftheprincipleofassociationinimportantaffairspracticallyteachesthemthatitistheirinteresttohelpeachotherinthoseoflessmoment。Apoliticalassociationdrawsanumberofindividualsatthesametimeoutoftheirowncircle:
howevertheymaybenaturallykeptasunderbyage，mind，andfortune，itplacesthemnearertogetherandbringsthemintocontact。Oncemet，theycanalwaysmeetagain。
Mencanembarkinfewcivilpartnershipswithoutriskingaportionoftheirpossessions;thisisthecasewithallmanufacturingandtradingcompanies。Whenmenareasyetbutlittleversedintheartofassociation，andareunacquaintedwithitsprincipalrules，theyareafraid，whenfirsttheycombineinthismanner，ofbuyingtheirexperiencedear。Theythereforepreferdeprivingthemselvesofapowerfulinstrumentofsuccesstorunningtheriskswhichattendtheuseofit。Theyare，however，lessreluctanttojoinpoliticalassociations，whichappeartothemtobewithoutdanger，becausetheyadventurenomoneyinthem。Buttheycannotbelongtotheseassociationsforanylengthoftimewithoutfindingouthoworderismaintainedamongstalargenumberofmen，andbywhatcontrivancetheyaremadetoadvance，harmoniouslyandmethodically，tothesameobject。Thustheylearntosurrendertheirownwilltothatofalltherest，andtomaketheirownexertionssubordinatetothecommonimpulse—thingswhichitisnotlessnecessarytoknowincivilthaninpoliticalassociations。Politicalassociationsmaythereforebeconsideredaslargefreeschools，whereallthemembersofthecommunitygotolearnthegeneraltheoryofassociation。
Butevenifpoliticalassociationdidnotdirectlycontributetotheprogressofcivilassociation，todestroytheformerwouldbetoimpairthelatter。Whencitizenscanonlymeetinpublicforcertainpurposes，theyregardsuchmeetingsasastrangeproceedingofrareoccurrence，andtheyrarelythinkatallaboutit。Whentheyareallowedtomeetfreelyforallpurposes，theyultimatelylookuponpublicassociationastheuniversal，orinamannerthesolemeans，whichmencanemploytoaccomplishthedifferentpurposestheymayhaveinview。Everynewwantinstantlyrevivesthenotion。Theartofassociationthenbecomes，asIhavesaidbefore，themotherofaction，studiedandappliedbyall。
Whensomekindsofassociationsareprohibitedandothersallowed，itisdifficulttodistinguishtheformerfromthelatter，beforehand。Inthisstateofdoubtmenabstainfromthemaltogether，andasortofpublicopinionpassescurrentwhichtendstocauseanyassociationwhatsoevertoberegardedasaboldandalmostanillicitenterprise。*a[Footnotea:Thisismoreespeciallytruewhentheexecutivegovernmenthasadiscretionarypowerofallowingorprohibitingassociations。Whencertainassociationsaresimplyprohibitedbylaw，andthecourtsofjusticehavetopunishinfringementsofthatlaw，theevilisfarlessconsiderable。Theneverycitizenknowsbeforehandprettynearlywhathehastoexpect。Hejudgeshimselfbeforeheisjudgedbythelaw，and，abstainingfromprohibitedassociations，heembarksinthosewhicharelegallysanctioned。Itisbytheserestrictionsthatallfreenationshavealwaysadmittedthattherightofassociationmightbelimited。Butifthelegislatureshouldinvestamanwithapowerofascertainingbeforehandwhichassociationsaredangerousandwhichareuseful，andshouldauthorizehimtodestroyallassociationsinthebudorallowthemtobeformed，asnobodywouldbeabletoforeseeinwhatcasesassociationsmightbeestablishedandinwhatcasestheywouldbeputdown，thespiritofassociationwouldbeentirelyparalyzed。Theformeroftheselawswouldonlyassailcertainassociations;thelatterwouldapplytosocietyitself，andinflictaninjuryuponit。Icanconceivethataregulargovernmentmayhaverecoursetotheformer，butIdonotconcedethatanygovernmenthastherightofenactingthelatter。]
Itisthereforechimericaltosupposethatthespiritofassociation，whenitisrepressedonsomeonepoint，willneverthelessdisplaythesamevigoronallothers;andthatifmenbeallowedtoprosecutecertainundertakingsincommon，thatisquiteenoughforthemeagerlytosetaboutthem。Whenthemembersofacommunityareallowedandaccustomedtocombineforallpurposes，theywillcombineasreadilyforthelesserasforthemoreimportantones;butiftheyareonlyallowedtocombineforsmallaffairs，theywillbeneitherinclinednorabletoeffectit。Itisinvainthatyouwillleavethementirelyfreetoprosecutetheirbusinessonjoint—stockaccount:theywillhardlycaretoavailthemselvesoftherightsyouhavegrantedtothem;and，afterhavingexhaustedyourstrengthinvaineffortstoputdownprohibitedassociations，youwillbesurprisedthatyoucannotpersuadementoformtheassociationsyouencourage。
Idonotsaythattherecanbenocivilassociationsinacountrywherepoliticalassociationisprohibited;formencanneverliveinsocietywithoutembarkinginsomecommonundertakings:butImaintainthatinsuchacountrycivilassociationswillalwaysbefewinnumber，feeblyplanned，unskillfullymanaged，thattheywillneverformanyvastdesigns，orthattheywillfailintheexecutionofthem。
Thisnaturallyleadsmetothinkthatfreedomofassociationinpoliticalmattersisnotsodangeroustopublictranquillityasissupposed;andthatpossibly，afterhavingagitatedsocietyforsometime，itmaystrengthentheStateintheend。Indemocraticcountriespoliticalassociationsare，sotospeak，theonlypowerfulpersonswhoaspiretoruletheState。Accordingly，thegovernmentsofourtimelookuponassociationsofthiskindjustassovereignsintheMiddleAgesregardedthegreatvassalsoftheCrown:theyentertainasortofinstinctiveabhorrenceofthem，andtheycombatthemonalloccasions。Theybear，onthecontrary，anaturalgoodwilltocivilassociations，becausetheyreadilydiscoverthat，insteadofdirectingthemindsofthecommunitytopublicaffairs，theseinstitutionsservetodivertthemfromsuchreflections;andthat，byengagingthemmoreandmoreinthepursuitofobjectswhichcannotbeattainedwithoutpublictranquillity，theydeterthemfromrevolutions。Butthesegovernmentsdonotattendtothefactthatpoliticalassociationstendamazinglytomultiplyandfacilitatethoseofacivilcharacter，andthatinavoidingadangerouseviltheydeprivethemselvesofanefficaciousremedy。
WhenyouseetheAmericansfreelyandconstantlyformingassociationsforthepurposeofpromotingsomepoliticalprinciple，ofraisingonemantotheheadofaffairs，orofwrestingpowerfromanother，youhavesomedifficultyinunderstandingthatmensoindependentdonotconstantlyfallintotheabuseoffreedom。If，ontheotherhand，yousurveytheinfinitenumberoftradingcompanieswhichareinoperationintheUnitedStates，andperceivethattheAmericansareoneverysideunceasinglyengagedintheexecutionofimportantanddifficultplans，whichtheslightestrevolutionwouldthrowintoconfusion，youwillreadilycomprehendwhypeoplesowellemployedarebynomeanstemptedtoperturbtheState，nortodestroythatpublictranquillitybywhichtheyallprofit。
Isitenoughtoobservethesethingsseparately，orshouldwenotdiscoverthehiddentiewhichconnectsthem？Intheirpoliticalassociations，theAmericansofallconditions，minds，andages，dailyacquireageneraltasteforassociation，andgrowaccustomedtotheuseofit。Theretheymeettogetherinlargenumbers，theyconverse，theylistentoeachother，andtheyaremutuallystimulatedtoallsortsofundertakings。Theyafterwardstransfertocivillifethenotionstheyhavethusacquired，andmakethemsubservienttoathousand...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
第44章