The Legacy of Alexis de Tocqueville

Alexis to Tquville is the nearest thing foreign correspondents have to a superhero He arrived in America on a boat from France in may eighteen thirty one young aristocrat on a mission The US was still a long way off being a superpower back then Barely fifty years old But Tockville caught a glimpse of what it could become new kind of society that would give the world a spectacle for which history had not prepared it A land with no kings or queens, where citizens made the rules. And so he set off on a nine month road trip to figure out how it worked He spoke to Americans from all walks of life. He filled up fourteen notebooks and dozens of letters with his observations Then he returned to France and wrote a book called Democracy in America For my money, it's still the single most insightful thing ever written about the United States I'm John Pridou, the U S. editor for the E economist. has been my companion since I first arrived in Washington as a correspondent thirteen years ago Tockville's big insight was that America is much more than a country. It was an idea One with the power to inspire followers and converts all over the planet almost like a religion does But now Two centuries after Tocville More and more people are questioning their faith in the United States And it's right to lead the world To make sense of this change, I'm returning to Tockville to try to see this America through his eyes For a new podcast series, I'm going on my own road trip Following the route, Tockville took Talking to Americans from all walks of life, just like he did from New York's High Society Oh now everybody wants you to Back We're all on a diet to prisoners in Singing I made choices, we made choices Unfortunately, that let to tellail, right But it's also we made choices to have us sit in this room with our nails. So We learn it in S America And from accollytes of the president. I do have a framed subpoena from the January sixth commommittee on my wall, which I'm very proud of to victims of an unchecked government This wholeolding cell had bugs, it had feces on the wall. it was nasty. It was really, really disgusting Well, the Constitution's been thrown in a dumpster fuck. It's not even f. I hope that following in Tquville's footsteps will help me figure out what's happened to America as it reaches its two hundred fiftieth birthday Is the country he described in democracy in America still there orr has this great guidebook to the future past its expiry date To listen, search for Tquville Roadrip wherever you get your podcasts.