(Hobbes, Locke, Madison, Tocqueville, Mill) Modern Conceptions of Liberty

how does tocqueville believe that the US prevents major tyrannt?

through our legal system and decentralization

what are tocqueville’s feelings about democracy?

happy and in favor of it but also worried that the power of the majority will lead to majority tyranny

according to tocqueville, what is the power of the majority?

they control

• making the laws

• the constitution

• enforcement of the law (exect + police)

what does tocqueville mean by decentralization?

how we have political power broken down to different levels (local, state, federal) and at the time in jacksonian' america, local and state govt power was the big craze

what is the importance of american lawyers to tocqeuville?

it adds precedent and tradition to the equality of everyone, so the law cannot be changed willy nilly and lawyers are there to serve and protect that law

our lawyers also occupy most political offices

what does tocqueville say about judges and juries?

as a last resort, we also have a judge who is beholden to the law and help us figure out all kinds of issues (elections, social grievances, social change")

tocqueville also believes juries allow people to have less fear of the law since it directly involves the common man in the process

according to john stuart mill, why should we noy suppress opinions?

1. we could lose the truth

2. we could lose the ability to argue for the truth (opinion is “wrong”)

3. we could be disregarding partial truths

does mill think anything should be restricted to discussion, such as religion?

NO! everyone is open to discussion and deliberation

what is the subject of mill’s “On Liberty”?

social censorship

NOT liberty of the press or govt censorship

what does mill believe?

even is 99% believes one thing, the 1% should not be censored at all from saying their piece

what if the opinion is true?

still no one is infallible, neither people nor periods of time

what is the opinion is wrong?

you need to have DISCUSSION, experience is not enough

what is the opinion is partially true?

then a discussion is needed to discover the whole truth!

what does mill think religion needs?

more secular ethics alongside the religious ethics

how does madison believe that the US constitution prevents majority tyranny?

since the constitution takes a representative democratic approach, the public can still be considered on decisions but it is not automatically what the majority wants

what is a faction?

a group that pursues its own interests at the expense of the common good and the rest of the populations interests

what is madison’s problems with factions?

if a faction becomes the majority, it can become tyrannical

what are madison’s possible solutions for factions?

1. eliminate the causes of factions, like liberty and peoples passions and desires

   1. madison says no

2. control the effects of factions through representation, having a large population, and encouraging these differences

   1. madison says yes! and this is only possible through a representative system