The Ideal of Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was one of the greatest political theorists of the nineteenth century. Manning Clark's book reads more like a discussion in political philosophy than a history thesis, and is the more interesting for that. His underlying concern, like Tocqueville's, is how to ensure that civil liberties and democratic institutions are not used by those opposed to them as stepping-stones to dictatorship.