TOCQUEVILLE: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Harvey C. Mansfield | 136 pages | 13 Jul 2010 | Oxford University Press Inc | 9780195175394 | English | New York, United States Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction - Harvey C. Mansfield Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign in via your Institution. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Sign in with your library card Please enter your library card number. Search within Informal democracy 4. Democratic despotism 5. Rational administration 6. Democratic despotism Harvey C. Request Examination Copy. No one has ever described American democracy with more accurate insight or more profoundly than Alexis de Tocqueville. After meeting with Americans on extensive travels in the United States, and intense study of documents and authorities, he authored the landmark Democracy in America , publishing its two volumes in and Ever since, this book has been the best source for every serious attempt to understand America and democracy itself. Yet Tocqueville himself remains a mystery behind the elegance of his style. Now one of our leading authorities on Tocqueville explains him in this splendid new entry in Oxford's acclaimed Very Short Introduction series. Harvey Mansfield addresses his subject as a thinker, clearly and incisively exploring Tocqueville's writings--not only his masterpiece, but also his secret Recollections , intended for posterity alone, and his unfinished work on his native France, The Old Regime and the Revolution. Tocqueville was a liberal, Mansfield writes, but not of the usual sort. The many elements of his life found expression in his thought: his aristocratic ancestry, his ventures in politics, his voyages abroad, his hopes and fears for America, and his disappointment with France. All his writings show a passion for political liberty and insistence on human greatness. Perhaps most important, he saw liberty not in theories, but in the practice of self- government in America. Ever an opponent of abstraction, he offered an analysis that forces us to consider what we actually do in our politics--suggesting that theory itself may be an enemy of freedom. And that, Mansfield writes, makes him a vitally important thinker for today. Translator of an authoritative edition of Democracy in America , Harvey Mansfield here offers the fruit of decades of research and reflection in a clear, insightful, and marvelously compact introduction. All his writings show a passion for political liberty and insistence on human greatness. Perhaps most important, he saw liberty not in theories, but in the practice of self-government in America. Ever an opponent of abstraction, he offered an analysis that forces us to consider what we actually do in our politics--suggesting that theory itself may be an enemy of freedom. And that, Mansfield writes, makes him a vitally important thinker for today. Translator of an authoritative edition of Democracy in America , Harvey Mansfield here offers the fruit of decades of research and reflection in a clear, insightful, and marvelously compact introduction. About the Author Harvey C. Mansfield is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Related Searches. Traditionally, economists have based their economic predictions on the assumption that humans are super-rational creatures, Traditionally, economists have based their economic predictions on the assumption that humans are super-rational creatures, using the information we are given efficiently and generally making selfish decisions. View Product. 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Tocqueville was a liberal and a thinker whose life's experiences — his aristocratic ancestry, his ventures in politics, and his voyages abroad — shaped his writings. His work expressed his passion for political liberty and insistence on human greatness. He opposed abstraction and theory, and his emphasis on the practice of self-government in America was a reflection of his hopes and fears for America, and his disappointment with his native France. Harvey Mansfield, author William R. Kenan, Jr. Access to the complete content on Very Short Introductions online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. NOOK Book. Home 1 Books 2. Read an excerpt of this book! Add to Wishlist. Sign in to Purchase Instantly. Members save with free shipping everyday! See details. Overview No one has ever described American democracy with more accurate insight or more profoundly than Alexis de Tocqueville. After meeting with Americans on extensive travels in the United States, and intense study of documents and authorities, he authored the landmark Democracy in America , publishing its two volumes in and Ever since, this book has been the best source for every serious attempt to understand America and democracy itself. Yet Tocqueville himself remains a mystery behind the elegance of his style. Now one of our leading authorities on Tocqueville explains him in this splendid new entry in Oxford's acclaimed Very Short Introduction series. Harvey Mansfield addresses his subject as a thinker, clearly and incisively exploring Tocqueville's writings--not only his masterpiece, but also his secret Recollections , intended for posterity alone, and his unfinished work on his native France, The Old Regime and the Revolution. Tocqueville was a liberal, Mansfield writes, but not of the usual sort. The many elements of his life found expression in his thought: his aristocratic ancestry, his ventures in politics, his voyages abroad, his hopes and fears for America, and his disappointment with France. All his writings show a passion for political liberty and insistence on human greatness. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Tocqueville , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Oct 01, robin friedman rated it it was amazing. Harvey Mansfield's study of Alexis de Tocqueville -- offers a provocative interpretation of this thinker and his continued importance rather than a mere summary. The book is part of Oxford University Press' "Very Short Introductions" series which aims to introduce readers to subjects and persons of importance in brief volumes. Mansfield is the William R. Kenan Jr. He h Harvey Mansfield's study of Alexis de Tocqueville -- offers a provocative interpretation of this thinker and his continued importance rather than a mere summary. He has written extensively about political philosophy and in published an acclaimed translation of Tocqueville's "Democracy in America". Tocqueville was a French aristocrat who achieved greatness for his thoughts about democracy. Mansfield offers a short consideration of Tocqueville's life and of his endeavors in politics, but he spends most of the book discussing the writings. He concentrates of Tocqueville's most famous work, "Democracy in America" published in two volumes in and The book includes Tocqueville's reflections on the United States based upon a nine-month visit in with his friend, Gustave de Beaumont. Almost everyone who writes about or seeks to understand the United States studies and refers to "Democracy in America". Mansfield also considers Tocqueville's two other important books and their relationship to "Democracy": "The Old Regime and the Revolution" , a book left unfinished which explores the background of the French Revolution, and the "Recollections", a personal account of the Revolution of which remained unpublished, at Tocqueville's request, until In a letter to a friend, Tocqueville described himself as a "new kind of liberal". Mansfield tries to show how this description was justified. Mansfield distinguishes Tocqueville from the older kind of liberalism of Hobbes and Locke which was based upon a social contract theory and a view of human beings and their rights in a state of nature before social organization. Mansfield argues that Tocqueville rejects this individualistic, pre-social analysis of the human condition and accepts instead an Aristotelian view of man as a "political animal". Human beings must be understood, in this view, in a social context at the outset rather than as disconnected individuals. Mansfield also argues that Tocqueville distrusted philosophy or ideology of any stripe as a basis for understanding