托克維爾真的不愧是偉大的政治思想家.他的偉大在於能夠預見未來,而這種能力,來自於他對人性和人類的心理狀態的深刻認識.
在《論美國的民主》一書中,他講到了在民主國家中也會存在暴政:
“在民主共和國,暴政…讓身體任其自由,而直接壓制靈魂.這時,國家的首腦已不再說:“你得跟著我思想,否則你就別想活.“而是說:“你是自由的,不必跟著我思想;你的生活,你的財產,你的一切,都屬於你.但從今以後,你在我們黨職將是一個外人.你可以保留你在社會上的特權,但這些特權對你將一無用處,因為如果你想讓同胞選舉你,他們將不會投你的票;而如果你想讓他們尊重你,他們將假裝尊重你.你雖然仍然留在我們當中,但你將失去做人的權利.在你接近你的同胞時,他們就像躲避髒東西一樣遠遠離開你;即使是那些認為你是乾淨無垢的人也要離開你,因為他們也怕別人躲避他們.”
大家可以想想看,這與今天美國激進左派提出的“取消文化”是不是非常相似?
今天美國的這種文化暴政,托克維爾在1835年就預見到了.
"In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own."
--from "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville
--from "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville
Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that polit?ical commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the soci?ety of the United States. Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, came to the young nation to investigate the functioning of American democracy and the social, political, and economic life of its citizens, publishing his observations in 1835 and 1840. Brilliantly written and vividly illustrated with vignettes and portraits, Democracy in America is far more than a trenchant analysis of one soci?ety at a particular point in time. What will most intrigue modern readers is how many of Tocqueville’s observations still hold true: on the mixed advantages of a free press, the strained relations among the races, and the threats posed to democracies by consumerism and corruption. So uncanny is Tocqueville’s insight and so accurate are his predictions, that it seems as though he were not merely describing the American identity but actually helping to create it.
Americans too have remained much as Alexis de Tocqueville found them in the 19th century: "So many lucky men, restless in the midst of abundance."
托克維爾
(Alexis de Tocqueville)
- Alexis de Tocqueville: French politician and writer of the classic Democracy in America (1805-1859)
2005
歲末懷念友人： Jean-Marie Gogue
上周，接到法國友人 Jean-Marie Gogue的賀卡（12 月10 日寄出）。注意到郵花改變相當多：Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) 價碼為0.9歐元。
他說「一直念記我。新年快樂。」
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