What are De Tocqueville's 3 generative principle of democracy?

Answer 1

Alexis de Tocqueville's theory of Democracy is based on three "generative principles." The first of these "generative principles" is equality of conditions. For Democracy to exist there must be equality. In his famous work Democracy in America, Tocqueville states "rights must be given to each citizen or to no one." It is this equality of conditions that serve as the seeds of Democracy. According to Tocqueville, this equality of conditions served as a "generative principle" for Democracy

Another "generative principle" for democracy was sovereignty of the people.

Just as sovereignty of the people is a "generative principle," so is public opinion. Public opinion is what drives democracy.

Despite the prospects of the tyranny of the majority, Tocqueville felt democracy was the way of the future. He believed that democracy was the destiny for modern nation states and that monarchies and aristocracies would soon disappear. Democracy represented the negation of the aristocracy. Tocqueville used the term "providential" when describing the spread of democracy. Tocqueville wanted to convey a sense of predetermined historical and divine triumph. In order for democracy to triumph the "generative principles" of equality of conditions, sovereignty of the people, and public opinion needed to exist.