Comparing De Tocqueville And John Stuart Mill
In an era of great political change, De Tocqueville and Mill, two thinkers on either side of the English Channel, prophesied about the emergence of a new political order with the advance of civilization in the West. With rapid industrialization lifting what Mill calls “the masses” out of destitute poverty and increasing the size of the middle class, ordinary individuals who were in previous ages mere serfs and peasants amassed new amounts of wealth which led to demands for enfranchisement and further democratization. In this sense, both thinkers viewed civilization to be, henceforth, synonymous with the emergence of democracy. Moreover, through close examination of their writings, let’s evaluate the commonalities in their thoughts about democracy and particularly what Mill believes is best for future political development in both of his assigned readings.
Firstly, John Stuart Mill
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In this regard, while De Tocqueville points to the clergy’s practice of accepting men of all classes as the seminal event that led to more socio-economic equality (or as he puts it, “the equality of conditions”) (SR, 150), Mill asserts that it was the rise of private property in Great Britain and the incidental onset of capitalism that engendered progress. Regardless of this difference in perspective however, both still wholeheartedly agree that newspapers (or “the post,” as De Tocqueville calls it) allowed for the spread of knowledge (SR, 151) (Civ, 131) in Western society. And Mill, especially, emphasizes the importance of newspapers in both of his writings, as he asserts that they are the means that brought about increased association (or as he says, “combination”) of the middle and working classes to bring about change in the
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