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FeaturesMarch 2010 A new kind of liberalism: Tocqueville's “Recollections” On the defense of politics through the disparagement of philosophy. In view of Alexis de Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher; yet it was through his critique of philosophy that he set forth a new, rethought liberalism. In Democracy in America, Tocqueville criticizes materialist philosophy for encouraging democracy’s habit of finding nothing in life but material pleasure and for depriving it of the pride excited by religion. In The Old Regime, he criticizes rationalist philosophy for seeking systems of reform that do not care about liberty. It is not hard to see the two philosophies as aspects of the modern political philosophy that is the source of liberalism: materialism for the sake of reform rather than resignation to the inevitable, and rationalism for the material improvement of life rather than contemplation. In the Recoll ... This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchaseSubscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions) Subscribe to TNC (Online only) This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 28 March 2010, on page 4 Copyright © 2012 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/A-new-kind-of-liberalism--Tocqueville-s--ldquo-Recollections-rdquo--5176
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