Sociology and Democracy Essay

Submitted By kerenantoine123
Words: 609
Pages: 3
Open Document
1988 Aristocracy, the privileged class of people usually of high birth, has existed from the very beginning of civilization. Aristocracy was never thought of as odd or unacceptable, on the contrary it was thought to be benevolent. As a result, people have become so familiarized with the concept of aristocracy that they often find fault in other institutions such as democracy. In Democracy in America, author, Alexis De Tocqueville, indicates that both aristocracy and democracy have their advantages and disadvantages, but it becomes obvious that Tocqueville leans towards aristocracy rather than democracy. Tocqueville opens the text by addressing the aristocracy institution. Tocqueville mentions that “a man always knows his forefathers and respects them; he thinks he already sees his remote descendants and he loves them.” But he argues that aristocracy causes men to sacrifice “[their] personal gratifications” and it allows men to “sacrifice themselves for others” rather than mankind itself. Based on the statements above, Tocqueville openly declares that aristocracy does not benefit people as a whole, it merely benefits the individuals. Those individuals unconsciously place others above their own selves, they praise those who have passed long ago, and they seek to please others in the present. On the other hand, aristocracy has “the effect of closely binding every man to several of his fellow citizens.” Through aristocracy, the groups of people display kinship amongst themselves; therefore, they are more tightly knitted together verses community as a whole. Aristocracy nonetheless encourages social class and distinction, which is highly discouraged in democracy. In addition, Tocqueville opinionates his view point of democracy. In democracy there are “those who went before are soon forgotten; of those who will come after, no one has any idea…” Rather than accepting the ideas of remembering and cherishing one’s forefather in the past and present, democracy encourages individualism. In democracy people “owe nothing to any man, they expect nothing from any man; they acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone, and the apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands.” There was not one man that was higher than the other or more rich and powerful that could influence the population. Everyone was equal; one group alone could not use the population of their own desires. Democracy gave man the freedom to do as they will without any
Show More

Related Documents: Sociology and Democracy Essay

Soc 185 Essay examples

Soc185A Reading Democracy: -man the subjectified state; democracy starts from man and makes the state objectified man. Just as it's not religion which creates man but man who creates religion, so it is not the constitution which creates the people but the people which creates the constitution. -Monarchy cannot be understood in its own terms; democracy can. -Man does not exist for the law but the law for man Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Introduction -man makes…

Words 1051 - Pages 5

Essay on Analyse and Contrast Elite, Pluralist and Marxist Theories of the State. Which Interpretation Do You Find Most Convincing?

2. Analyse and contrast elite, pluralist and Marxist theories of the state. Which interpretation do you find most convincing? Intro The aim of this essay is to examine the three major theories of the state before concluding which of them is, in my opinion, most useful when examining the relationship between the state and civil society in the UK. I will first attempt to briefly outline the three theories. Following this I will offer some definitions and distinctions as well as highlighting…

Words 2073 - Pages 9

John D. Carl's Amusing Ourselves To Death

warning readers that a culture based purely on technology and TV is not necessarily a culture worth enjoying. THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture • Culture includes – Language – Beliefs – Values – Norms – Behaviors – Material objects - that are passed on from generation to generation THINK Sociology, Second Edition John D. Carl Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Material Culture • Material…

Words 1745 - Pages 7

Sociology Chapter 1 review Essay

SOC 1301 What is Sociology? Chapter 1, p 3-37 You should be able to: Define: • Sociology- the study of human behavior in society and how people react, they look to save the people, they get the base of where it is coming from and examine it • Sociological imagination- By C. Wright Mills (1959) basically saying that there is a reason for people acting the way that they do, because of the experiences they have had and history it sees our lives as contextual lives—our individual identities are…

Words 752 - Pages 4

Taking A New Look Into A Familiar World

Sociology 101 August 28, 2013 Emma Lunning Ooooookay Taking a New Look into a Familiar World What makes sociology distinctive? -Soc. As a discipline; is the study of human society? -Social interactions that occur- focus on the GROUP not the individual -Individual perspectives are insufficient to understand social dynamics Example: you go to Minneapolis to a twin’s game; your assignment is to write a report on what you observe at the game. -Most kids- -comment … -on the players -mediocre…

Words 440 - Pages 2

Sociology Chapter 1 Essay

INCOME- poverty city Thinking globaly helps us learn more about ourselves. 3 kinds of change important in the development of sociology the rise of a factiry-base economy the explosive growth of cities(caused social problems such as violence) new ideas about democracy& political rights COMET'S 3 STAGES OF SOCIETY Theological Metaphysical Scintific 1. SOCIOLOGY- the systematic study of human society. 2. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE- special point of view that sees general patterns of society…

Words 562 - Pages 3

ARGUMENT SUMMARY 1 Essay

Sociology 151 Professor Waldinger 10/14/14 MORAL GROUNDS OF AFFLUENT WESTERN DEMOCRACIES FOR EXCLUDING POOR IMMIGRANTS The move by many people from the third world countries to affluent Western societies depicts efforts to escape the consequences of poverty and oppression. Most of the people are; however, prevented from reaching the Western democracies. There are concerns over the immoral nature of preventing the individuals from accessing opportunities in the Western societies. The restriction…

Words 442 - Pages 2

Sociological Analysis

years ago). Have never taken sociology before, it simply was not a required course back then, the university curriculum in Ukraine locked of any elective courses, all the classes were set at the beginning and they all were required. I kind of knew, that sociology is the science of human interactions with in the context of our lives, how one’s life is shaped by others he interacts with. That is all I knew or may be guessed. So now, when I was introduced to basic sociology and one week before finishing…

Words 985 - Pages 4

Social Theory Essay

industrial revolution to the brief period of democracy after the French revolution in 1789. I have realized that Durkeim focuses on the group rather than the individual. And that Marx’s theories Political and Social problems played a huge role in the theories of Emile Durkeim and how he dealt with a lot of situations. In 1789 Durkeim started to worry about France’s future due to the numerous violent changes in government. The brief period of democracy after the French revolution in 1789 was a…

Words 470 - Pages 2

Introduction to sociology Essay

Sociology Assignment Sociology is often criticised for being similar to common sense, but sociology differs from common sense in a number of ways. Common sense is based on the main beliefs of a society, whereas sociology gathers evidence to examine and analyse the main beliefs of society. An example of this would be sociological research into suicide (Durkheim, 1897) which gathered evidence to determine the causes of suicide rather than use the common sense assumption that it was depressed people…

Words 1613 - Pages 7