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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
8 pages in length. The writer discusses the various notions and applications of democracy as they have existed throughout history, including references to Alexis de Tocqueville, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, Lauren Berlant and Frederick Douglass. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
8 pages (~225 words per page)
File: LM1_TLCdemac.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
against the concerns and needs of the community is illustrated in myriad social controversies throughout history; indeed, the tension between the individual and the community has long been recognized.
Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed the pitfalls of individualism when he wrote Democracy in America. As a means by which to address the role of civic engagement in the post-Founding
period, Tocqueville posed the following questions: Is there such a thing as too much individualism? Does a community have rights? Do the rights of the individual outweigh those
of the community? To be unique within a world of sameness is a quest sought by many people; however, it is by way
of such an objective that one becomes labeled as selfish and intolerant of commonly accepted methods, clearly demonstrating Tocquevilles assertion that it is possible to have citizens who are too
democratic. This negative connotation of individualism - which is to maintain an independence from the norm - has cast an even darker meaning upon striving to achieve ones own
distinctiveness. Believing that man is a selfish being who has limitless desires, and noting that there exists no common denominator between humanity and the rest of nature, Tocqueville may
well have acknowledged that mankind stands alone in his endless quest for more, a concept behind the reason society is its own opposing force. He believed that although society
had come a long way in its progression, there was still a great deal of room for improvement, especially with regard to the self-centered element. Others - such as
Lauren Berlant in her article The Theory of Infantile Citizenship - have long postulated the concept of individualism, whether or not it was a positive or negative aspect of humanity,
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