Tocqueville: Democracy in America

 

In 1831, a young French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to the United States to make a study of the new country's prison system. While treading the fresh soil, he turned his attention to the character of the country itself. He became enamored by the democratic revolution the nation had undergone since its liberation from England in the war of 1776 and its establishment of its constitution in 1787.

In contrast to his native France and its development following the revolution of 1789 and the ascendancy of Napoleon in 1799, Tocqueville believed there was something much more egalitarian about the democratic character of the States. Moreover, he believed these egalitarian ideals he sensed in the real-life world of the citizens represented a new spirit of the age, one which he believed the whole world would come to emulate. He was not wrong.

At the same time Tocqueville admired the democracy and equality of the New World, he also observed some underdetermined features about the way the country operated which might lead to future malfunction. He was especially critical of how underdetermined legal matters were regarding political crimes as defined in national and state constitutions.

T.S. Eliot on History and Art

Every work of art speaks to every other work of art. The introduction of a single piece of art alters the valence of every previous work. James Joyce published Ulysses in 1922, and now Homer's Odyssey appears to be a precursor to Ulysses just as Ulysses arrives in homage to The Odyssey.

Interestingly, historical events work the same way. The French Revolution of 1789 takes on a new meaning when 1914 breaks out in a war of empire against empire rather than a rising up of people against kings. The First World War of 1914 kills the dream of the French Revolution.

Why Read Moby-Dick?

Recently, I was relaying to a friend that I am rereading Moby-Dick, and my friend said Moby-Dick was his father's favorite book. "But I've never read it," my friend said. "Too big a reputation."

Indeed, the reputation of the book overshadows the book itself. The very notion of a great book, especially one regarded as the great American novel (Moby-Dick is), is likely to scare away readers. A shame, because good books, not only great ones, ought to be enjoyed.

Moby-Dick is a pleasure to read. A passive narrator, writing under an assumed name, recounts a whaling voyage he took in which the ship and crew were lost to sea on account of a Great White Whale. And were it not for the monomaniacal pursuit of the Whale by the captain, a Quaker named Ahab who lost his leg to the selfsame whale, then the crew might not have perished.

As for the reading experience, the delight is in the details. The book is largely written as though you're engaged in a conversation with a talkative sailor who wants to let you know exactly what whaling is like. He wants to tell you everything he knows about whales, the true accounts and legends alike.

Plato's Symposium

Plato's Symposium is Western literature's greatest contribution on the topic of love. It recounts a conversation at a house party of a pretentious Greek playwright, a composer of tragedies, named Agathon. At the party, the guests drink wine and take turns conveying their encomiums to love.

Socrates is among the guests. Usually, he's disheveled, but he's all spiffed up for this occasion. And he's excited about the topic, too, because he says if there's one thing he knows about, it's love.

Predicting Presidential Elections

One month before the general election, political scientist Peter K. Enns published data calling the 2024 presidential election for Trump.

The situation was volatile at the time. Biden had dropped out of the race 100 days prior and the Democratic leadership had nominated Harris. While Enns had expected a head-to-head between Biden and Trump, he guessed that since Trump already stood a 75% chance of winning according to his model, the only way the Democrats could win would be if Trump squandered the lead. He didn't.

In the end, Enns appears to have correctly predicted the presidential election.