ChapterIII:ThatTheSentimentsOfDemocraticNationsAccordWithTheirOpinionsInLeadingThemToConcentratePoliticalPowerIfitbetruethat,inagesofequality,menreadilyadoptthenotionofagreatcentralpower,itcannotbedoubtedontheotherhandthattheirhabitsandsentimentspredisposethemtorecognizesuchapowerandtogiveittheirsupport。Thismaybedemonstratedinafewwords,asthegreaterpartofthereasons,towhichthefactmaybeattributed,havebeenpreviouslystated。
*aAsthemenwhoinhabitdemocraticcountrieshavenosuperiors,noinferiors,andnohabitualornecessarypartnersintheirundertakings,theyreadilyfallbackuponthemselvesandconsiderthemselvesasbeingsapart。Ihadoccasiontopointthisoutatconsiderablelengthintreatingofindividualism。Hencesuchmencannever,withoutaneffort,tearthemselvesfromtheirprivateaffairstoengageinpublicbusiness;theirnaturalbiasleadsthemtoabandonthelattertothesolevisibleandpermanentrepresentativeoftheinterestsofthecommunity,thatistosay,totheState。Notonlyaretheynaturallywantinginatasteforpublicbusiness,buttheyhavefrequentlynotimetoattendtoit。Privatelifeissobusyindemocraticperiods,soexcited,sofullofwishesandofwork,thathardlyanyenergyorleisureremainstoeachindividualforpubliclife。Iamthelastmantocontendthatthesepropensitiesareunconquerable,sincemychiefobjectinwritingthisbookhasbeentocombatthem。Ionlymaintainthatatthepresentdayasecretpowerisfosteringtheminthehumanheart,andthatiftheyarenotcheckedtheywillwhollyovergrowit。
[Footnotea:SeeAppendixW。]
Ihavealsohadoccasiontoshowhowtheincreasingloveofwell—being,andthefluctuatingcharacterofproperty,causedemocraticnationstodreadallviolentdisturbance。Theloveofpublictranquillityisfrequentlytheonlypassionwhichthesenationsretain,anditbecomesmoreactiveandpowerfulamongsttheminproportionasallotherpassionsdroopanddie。Thisnaturallydisposesthemembersofthecommunityconstantlytogiveortosurrenderadditionalrightstothecentralpower,whichaloneseemstobeinterestedindefendingthembythesamemeansthatitusestodefenditself。Asinagesofequalitynomaniscompelledtolendhisassistancetohisfellow—men,andnonehasanyrighttoexpectmuchsupportfromthem,everyoneisatonceindependentandpowerless。Thesetwoconditions,whichmustneverbeeitherseparatelyconsideredorconfoundedtogether,inspirethecitizenofademocraticcountrywithverycontrarypropensities。Hisindependencefillshimwithself—relianceandprideamongsthisequals;hisdebilitymakeshimfeelfromtimetotimethewantofsomeoutwardassistance,whichhecannotexpectfromanyofthem,becausetheyareallimpotentandunsympathizing。Inthispredicamenthenaturallyturnshiseyestothatimposingpowerwhichalonerisesabovethelevelofuniversaldepression。Ofthatpowerhiswantsandespeciallyhisdesirescontinuallyremindhim,untilheultimatelyviewsitasthesoleandnecessarysupportofhisownweakness。*bThismaymorecompletelyexplainwhatfrequentlytakesplaceindemocraticcountries,wheretheverymenwhoaresoimpatientofsuperiorspatientlysubmittoamaster,exhibitingatoncetheirprideandtheirservility。
[Footnoteb:Indemocraticcommunitiesnothingbutthecentralpowerhasanystabilityinitspositionoranypermanenceinitsundertakings。Allthemembersofsocietyareinceaselessstirandtransformation。Nowitisinthenatureofallgovernmentstoseekconstantlytoenlargetheirsphereofaction;henceitisalmostimpossiblethatsuchagovernmentshouldnotultimatelysucceed,becauseitactswithafixedprincipleandaconstantwill,uponmen,whoseposition,whosenotions,andwhosedesiresareincontinualvacillation。Itfrequentlyhappensthatthemembersofthecommunitypromotetheinfluenceofthecentralpowerwithoutintendingit。Democraticagesareperiodsofexperiment,innovation,andadventure。Atsuchtimestherearealwaysamultitudeofmenengagedindifficultornovelundertakings,whichtheyfollowalone,withoutcaringfortheirfellowmen。Suchpersonsmaybereadytoadmit,asageneralprinciple,thatthepublicauthorityoughtnottointerfereinprivateconcerns;but,byanexceptiontothatrule,eachofthemcravesforitsassistanceintheparticularconcernonwhichheisengaged,andseekstodrawupontheinfluenceofthegovernmentforhisownbenefit,thoughhewouldrestrictitonallotheroccasions。Ifalargenumberofmenapplythisparticularexceptiontoagreatvarietyofdifferentpurposes,thesphereofthecentralpowerextendsinsensiblyinalldirections,althougheachofthemwishesittobecircumscribed。
Thusademocraticgovernmentincreasesitspowersimplybythefactofitspermanence。Timeisonitsside;everyincidentbefriendsit;thepassionsofindividualsunconsciouslypromoteit;anditmaybeasserted,thattheolderademocraticcommunityis,themorecentralizedwillitsgovernmentbecome。]
Thehatredwhichmenbeartoprivilegeincreasesinproportionasprivilegesbecomemorescarceandlessconsiderable,sothatdemocraticpassionswouldseemtoburnmostfiercelyattheverytimewhentheyhaveleastfuel。Ihavealreadygiventhereasonofthisphenomenon。Whenallconditionsareunequal,noinequalityissogreatastooffendtheeye;
whereastheslightestdissimilarityisodiousinthemidstofgeneraluniformity:themorecompleteisthisuniformity,themoreinsupportabledoesthesightofsuchadifferencebecome。
Henceitisnaturalthattheloveofequalityshouldconstantlyincreasetogetherwithequalityitself,andthatitshouldgrowbywhatitfeedsupon。Thisnever—dying,ever—kindlinghatred,whichsetsademocraticpeopleagainstthesmallestprivileges,ispeculiarlyfavorabletothegradualconcentrationofallpoliticalrightsinthehandsoftherepresentativeoftheStatealone。Thesovereign,beingnecessarilyandincontestablyaboveallthecitizens,excitesnottheirenvy,andeachofthemthinksthathestripshisequalsoftheprerogativewhichheconcedestothecrown。Themanofademocraticageisextremelyreluctanttoobeyhisneighborwhoishisequal;herefusestoacknowledgeinsuchapersonabilitysuperiortohisown;hemistrustshisjustice,andisjealousofhispower;hefearsandhecontemnshim;andhelovescontinuallytoremindhimofthecommondependenceinwhichbothofthemstandtothesamemaster。Everycentralpowerwhichfollowsitsnaturaltendenciescourtsandencouragestheprincipleofequality;forequalitysingularlyfacilitates,extends,andsecurestheinfluenceofacentralpower。
Inlikemanneritmaybesaidthateverycentralgovernmentworshipsuniformity:uniformityrelievesitfrominquiryintoaninfinitenumberofsmalldetailswhichmustbeattendedtoifrulesweretobeadaptedtomen,insteadofindiscriminatelysubjectingmentorules:thusthegovernmentlikeswhatthecitizenslike,andnaturallyhateswhattheyhate。Thesecommonsentiments,which,indemocraticnations,constantlyunitethesovereignandeverymemberofthecommunityinoneandthesameconviction,establishasecretandlastingsympathybetweenthem。
Thefaultsofthegovernmentarepardonedforthesakeofitstastes;publicconfidenceisonlyreluctantlywithdrawninthemidstevenofitsexcessesanditserrors,anditisrestoredatthefirstcall。Democraticnationsoftenhatethoseinwhosehandsthecentralpowerisvested;buttheyalwayslovethatpoweritself。
Thus,bytwoseparatepaths,Ihavereachedthesameconclusion。Ihaveshownthattheprincipleofequalitysuggeststomenthenotionofasole,uniform,andstronggovernment:I
havenowshownthattheprincipleofequalityimpartstothematasteforit。Togovernmentsofthiskindthenationsofouragearethereforetending。Theyaredrawnthitherbythenaturalinclinationofmindandheart;andinordertoreachthatresult,itisenoughthattheydonotcheckthemselvesintheircourse。
Iamofopinion,that,inthedemocraticageswhichareopeninguponus,individualindependenceandlocallibertieswilleverbetheproduceofartificialcontrivance;thatcentralizationwillbethenaturalformofgovernment。*c[Footnotec:SeeAppendixX。]
ChapterIV:OfCertainPeculiarAndAccidentalCausesWhichEitherLeadAPeopleToCompleteCentralizationOfGovernment,OrWhichDivertThemFromItIfalldemocraticnationsareinstinctivelyledtothecentralizationofgovernment,theytendtothisresultinanunequalmanner。Thisdependsontheparticularcircumstanceswhichmaypromoteorpreventthenaturalconsequencesofthatstateofsociety—circumstanceswhichareexceedinglynumerous;
butIshallonlyadverttoafewofthem。Amongstmenwhohavelivedfreelongbeforetheybecameequal,thetendenciesderivedfromfreeinstitutionscombat,toacertainextent,thepropensitiessuperinducedbytheprincipleofequality;andalthoughthecentralpowermayincreaseitsprivilegesamongstsuchapeople,theprivatemembersofsuchacommunitywillneverentirelyforfeittheirindependence。Butwhentheequalityofconditionsgrowsupamongstapeoplewhichhasneverknown,orhaslongceasedtoknow,whatfreedomis(andsuchisthecaseupontheContinentofEurope),astheformerhabitsofthenationaresuddenlycombined,bysomesortofnaturalattraction,withthenovelhabitsandprinciplesengenderedbythestateofsociety,allpowersseemspontaneouslytorushtothecentre。
Thesepowersaccumulatetherewithastonishingrapidity,andtheStateinstantlyattainstheutmostlimitsofitsstrength,whilstprivatepersonsallowthemselvestosinkassuddenlytothelowestdegreeofweakness。
TheEnglishwhoemigratedthreehundredyearsagotofoundademocraticcommonwealthontheshoresoftheNewWorld,hadalllearnedtotakeapartinpublicaffairsintheirmother—country;
theywereconversantwithtrialbyjury;theywereaccustomedtolibertyofspeechandofthepress—topersonalfreedom,tothenotionofrightsandthepracticeofassertingthem。TheycarriedwiththemtoAmericathesefreeinstitutionsandmanlycustoms,andtheseinstitutionspreservedthemagainsttheencroachmentsoftheState。ThusamongsttheAmericansitisfreedomwhichisold—equalityisofcomparativelymoderndate。ThereverseisoccurringinEurope,whereequality,introducedbyabsolutepowerandundertheruleofkings,wasalreadyinfusedintothehabitsofnationslongbeforefreedomhadenteredintotheirconceptions。
Ihavesaidthatamongstdemocraticnationsthenotionofgovernmentnaturallypresentsitselftothemindundertheformofasoleandcentralpower,andthatthenotionofintermediatepowersisnotfamiliartothem。Thisispeculiarlyapplicabletothedemocraticnationswhichhavewitnessedthetriumphoftheprincipleofequalitybymeansofaviolentrevolution。Astheclasseswhichmanagedlocalaffairshavebeensuddenlysweptawaybythestorm,andastheconfusedmasswhichremainshasasyetneithertheorganizationnorthehabitswhichfitittoassumetheadministrationofthesesameaffairs,theStatealoneseemscapableoftakinguponitselfallthedetailsofgovernment,andcentralizationbecomes,asitwere,theunavoidablestateofthec...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看:
第55章