Natural Law Paper: Tocqueville’s Voyages (PDF)

Tocqueville’s Voyages is a collection of newly written essays by some of the most well-known Tocquevillian scholars today. The essays in the first part of the volume explore the development of Tocqueville’s thought, his intellectual voyage, during his trip to America and while writing Democracy in America. The second part of the book focuses on the dissemination of Tocqueville’s ideas beyond the Franco-American context of 1835–1840 in places such as Argentina, Japan, and Eastern Europe. The articles and contributors are as follows: Part 1: Tocqueville as Voyager Hidden from View: Tocqueville’s Secrets Eduardo Nolla Tocqueville’s Voyages: To and From America? S. J. D. Green Democratic Dangers, Democratic Remedies, and the Democratic Character James T. Schleifer Tocqueville’s Journey into America Jeremy Jennings Alexis de Tocqueville and the Two-Founding Thesis James W. Ceaser Tocqueville’s “New Political Science” Catherine H. Zuckert Democratic Grandeur: How Tocqueville Constructed His New Moral Science in America Alan S. Kahan Intimations of Philosophy in Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” Harvey C. Mansfield An Undertow of Race Prejudice in the Current of Democratic Transformation: Tocqueville on the “Three Races” of North America Barbara Allen Tocqueville’s Reflections on a Democratic Paradox Jean-Louis Benoît Out of Africa: Tocqueville’s Imperial Voyages Cheryl B. Welch Part 2: Tocquevillian Voyages Tocqueville’s Voyage of Discovery from Sicily to America Filippo Sabetti Tocqueville, Argentina, and the Search for a Point of Departure Enrique Aguilar Tocqueville and Eastern Europe Aurelian Craiutu Tocqueville and “Democracy in Japan Reiji Matsumoto This book gives readers unprecedented access to the development of Tocqueville’s thought as seen through the eyes of some of today’s most preeminent Tocquevillian scholars. Not only do the essays shed fresh light on the ideas in Democracy in America, but they also invite readers to reassess previous interpretations of Tocqueville’s great work and to consider its continued relevance to the world today. Christine Dunn Henderson is a Senior Fellow at Liberty Fund.