Essay 87: The Serious Attitude Of Americans And Why It Often Does Not Prevent Them From Ill Considered Actions (Vol. 2 Pt. 3 Ch. 15)
Essay Read by Constituting America Founder, Actress Janine Turner
The essays in our study reference the following edition of Democracy In America: University of Chicago Press – 1st edition translated by Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop. Today’s essay references pages 582 – 584 of this edition of Democracy in America.
This section of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America highlights a unique paradox in how democratic peoples, generally, and Americans in particular, approach their daily economic and political lives. De Tocqueville makes two critical observations about our very American frenetic energy. First, he observes that Americans spend their days in business and politics more fervently than in an aristocratic or monarchial society. However, he secondarily notes that this fervency leads to quick and constant changes that may render us more foolish in our judgments than in these other political systems.
In the first sense, De Tocqueville argues that Americans are always busy but attentive, moving constantly from one serious task to another. Accordingly, our American approach to government and economics prioritizes productivity over frivolity and wasted time. Even today, many of our leisure activities mix satisfaction of our goals with enjoyment. In short, we combine our “side hustles” with our hobbies. De Tocqueville notes this saying: “[M]en who live in democratic countries do not prize the sorts of naïve, unruly, and coarse entertainments that the people give themselves over to in aristocracies […]; they must have something more productive and substantial in their pleasures, they want to mix satisfaction with their joy.” Democratic institutions inspire citizens to believe their involvement can improve their lives and country. Since citizen activity can impact policy and one’s financial well-being, Americans consider all their activities in this light. They choose how they spend their time and seek to maximize its productivity rather than waste it. De Tocqueville notes that they “want to mix satisfaction with their joy” because they know production comes with both good effects and pleasure. He argues here that people who live under democratic systems want to see productive, positive results from how they spend their time.
As a direct result of this first observation, De Tocqueville secondarily shows that Americans can stumble into foolish choices. On first pass, this makes little sense. How can a population that takes everything seriously so frequently go down an unwise path? For De Tocqueville, though, this is not a true paradox. He argues that both the serious and the foolish originate from the same place – our frenetic energy. Americans are constantly being pulled from one task to the next. Democracies devolve the power of governing to the whole population. Thus, everyone must be more serious. De Tocqueville observes that “one encounters an infinite number of people in all classes who are constantly preoccupied with the serious affairs of government, and those who do not think of directing the public fortune are left wholly to the cares of increasing their private fortunes. In such a people gravity […] becomes a national habit.” Politics is always serious, but in aristocracies, only one part of society must focus on that work. In America, freedom and equality among fellow citizens mean that everyone is incentivized to stay engaged in one productive activity after another. We engage in such a wide range of activities that we avoid specialization and frequently improvise solutions to problems as we go. The constant activity from one improvisation to the next causes the country to get caught up in mistakes and miscalculations as we move too fast.
In democracies, people confront so many “grave and serious activities” competing for attention that they cannot pay sufficient attention to any one task to develop a deeper understanding of it. In short, De Tocqueville observes that Americans become generalist-improvisers: a “jack of all trades, master of none.” Thus, the combination of having only a cursory knowledge of a variety of topics but the ability to be involved in meaningful and substantive activities has the potential to lead to mistakes in both business and policy. He points out that “in democracies men are never settled; a thousand accidents make them change place constantly, and there almost always reigns something unforeseen and so to speak improvised in their lives. Thus, they are often forced to do what they have learned badly, to speak of what they scarcely understand.” Thus, various competing demands prevent Americans from developing a depth of knowledge that would lead to consistently wise decisions. Instead, frequently forced to act as generalists with little expertise, they inevitably stumble.
Ultimately, though, De Tocqueville holds that American flexibility in the face of all the activities that compete for their attention becomes an asset. Accordingly, the people will recover well from isolated instances of folly. De Tocqueville points out elsewhere that the same individual can take risks, fail, and then move into something new multiple times within a lifetime and society will not think less of him for his errors. The principle applies to the whole population as well. Constant activity will likely help the country move beyond any single miscalculation. Frenetic optimism remains.
Erin Brooks-Hindman earned her B.A. in Politics from Hillsdale College in 2008 and continued her graduate education at Regent University and Claremont Graduate University, where she earned her Ph.D. in 2022. Specializing in Western and American Political Thought, her recent research is on civilian-military relations and the need for character-based officer education. While at Holy Cross, she has taught various courses, including introductory courses in both political philosophy and American government, as well as upper division courses on the American national security infrastructure and American Political Thought.
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Hello! I’m Janine Turner, founder of Constituting America!
“This section of De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America highlights a unique paradox in how democratic peoples, generally, and Americans in particular, approach their daily economic and political lives. De Tocqueville makes two critical observations about our very American frenetic energy. First, he observes that Americans spend their days in business and politics more fervently than in an aristocratic or monarchial society.
However, he secondarily notes that this fervency leads to quick and constant changes that may render us more foolish in our judgments than in these other political systems.”
How do you feel our frenetic energy impacts our political judgment. Historical perspective and depth of knowledge on subjects is vitally important, I believe, you?