3- Tocqueville (America) Flashcards
What does Tocqueville believe caused America’s social state as being “entirely democratic”? (3 main things)
1) accidental situation
2) Laws
3) habits and customs
Describe America’s accidental situation that led to democracy
America was proportionately quite empty
No neighbors
No needs to tax system or army
Did not live through civil war
Describe America’s laws that led to democracy
The estate laws (dispersion of goods after someone’s death) lead to better distribution of goods and power
Describe America’s habits and customs that led to democracy
Estate laws act on soul of property owners so that they aid the estate laws
There was a sense of equality
Meritocracy created believe that anyone could succeed (created idea that everyone should try)
How does Tocqueville think townships helped america?
allowed citizens direct influence (federalism) & creates individual freedom and spirit of freedom
Prevents overreach of centralization of power (against hobbes)
What is the “Greatest Promise of America,” according to Tocqueville?
To be able to have repairable mistakes. Laws and norms can be changed
What is the biggest danger in America?
Tyranny of Majority (guarantees interests of the greater number, might suppress minorities)
True or False: Tocqueville believes in the abolition of slavery
True - because it attacks American morality and destroys democratic passions
How did Americans treat Native culture/land from Tocqueville’s perspective?
Loss of land, language, and heritage under false promises
Who is Gloria Anzaldua?
Chicana scholar focused on Borders, author of Borderlands
Def - Border culture
“A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is a constant state of transition” - creation of a mestiza/Borderlands consciousness
True or False: Anzaldua believes in embracing borderlands, or the in-between of cultures
True - “I want the freedom to carve and chisel my own face”
What does Anzaldua think about American culture?
It is full of mixed and fluid identities, multiple perspectives, with many things living in borderlands
Who is Jedidiah Purdy?
American politician and legal scholar, criticized American culture from a perspective of Climate Change
Def - Anthropocene
Current geological epoch, with human activity as the main environmental force (ex. climate change)
How do Americans see Nature, according to Purdy?
As a field for extraction and exploitation. Terrifying Nature/Wilderness must be tamed - any land that is not owned or cultivated is waste
What are the three shifts in humanity’s perspective on nature, according to Purdy?
1) Wilderness Preservation -> Food production
2) Natural Beauty -> Uncanny
3) Saving nature -> living with environmental problems
True or False: Humans are both natural and artificial
True
True of False: Nature is optional for Political Theory
False
Who is James Baldwin?
Public Figure and theorist in NYC 20th century, focused on segregation and police brutality
What is Baldwin’s experience with reliigion?
Spreads no love, only hatred and self-hatred and despair
True or False: According to Baldwin, the distance between black and white is the distance between whites and themselves
True
What is freedom connected to in America, according to Baldwin?
Land ownership and private property
True or False: America prioritizes equality over liberty
True - People may risk freedom for comfort
