Tocqueville advocated enlightened self-interest, not republican civic virtue
Evidence
The problem is that Tocqueville did not argue that local politics and social associations were means for fostering widespread civic virtue and political involvement along republican lines. Rather he was working with a concept that was distinct from that of republicans, but which neo-republicans conflate as synonymous with civic virtue—and that is enlightened self-interest. — Adelin-Costin Dumitru, Forging the Resistive Republic, 26
Categorization
- DEFINE: Clarifies the conceptual distinction between Tocqueville’s ‘enlightened self-interest’ and republican ‘civic virtue’ that neo-republicans routinely conflate.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Adelin-Costin Dumitru, Forging the Resistive Republic: Social…, 26
Related
- Ideas can serve republicanism regardless of their author’s self-identification (similarity 0.79)
- Republican civic virtue is thin enough to suit pluralist societies (similarity 0.79)
- Civic virtue advances republican freedom instrumentally, not intrinsically. (similarity 0.78)