“Indeed you can usually tell when the concepts of democracy and citizenship are weakening. There is an increase in the role of charity and in the worship of volunteerism. These represent the élite citizen’s imitation of noblesse oblige; that is, of pretending to be aristocrats or oligarchs, as opposed to being citizens.” —John Ralston Saul
And in contrast to this generalizing quote, we can contrast the lengthy & famous passages in de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (written during his visit in a period where presumably ‘the concepts of democracy and citizenship are [not] weakening’) where he marvels at how ordinary Americans are always volunteering, always starting new charities, always participating in citizen-staffed organizations, for every possible problem and cause, in considerable contrast to his native France, and claims this is a cause of the success of democracy in America.
And in contrast to this generalizing quote, we can contrast the lengthy & famous passages in de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (written during his visit in a period where presumably ‘the concepts of democracy and citizenship are [not] weakening’) where he marvels at how ordinary Americans are always volunteering, always starting new charities, always participating in citizen-staffed organizations, for every possible problem and cause, in considerable contrast to his native France, and claims this is a cause of the success of democracy in America.
Quote three.
The entirety of chapter V, “OF THE USE WHICH THE AMERICANS MAKE OF PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS IN CIVIL LIFE” comes to mind, as do parts from chapter VI (“OF THE RELATION BETWEEN PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS AND THE NEWSPAPERS”) and chapter VII (“RELATION OF CIVIL TO POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS”). de Tocqueville is far from a concise quotable author.