ChapterIII:ThatTheSentimentsOfDemocraticNationsAccordWithTheirOpinionsInLeadingThemToConcentratePoliticalPowerIfitbetruethat，inagesofequality，menreadilyadoptthenotionofagreatcentralpower，itcannotbedoubtedontheotherhandthattheirhabitsandsentimentspredisposethemtorecognizesuchapowerandtogiveittheirsupport。Thismaybedemonstratedinafewwords，asthegreaterpartofthereasons，towhichthefactmaybeattributed，havebeenpreviouslystated。
*aAsthemenwhoinhabitdemocraticcountrieshavenosuperiors，noinferiors，andnohabitualornecessarypartnersintheirundertakings，theyreadilyfallbackuponthemselvesandconsiderthemselvesasbeingsapart。Ihadoccasiontopointthisoutatconsiderablelengthintreatingofindividualism。Hencesuchmencannever，withoutaneffort，tearthemselvesfromtheirprivateaffairstoengageinpublicbusiness;theirnaturalbiasleadsthemtoabandonthelattertothesolevisibleandpermanentrepresentativeoftheinterestsofthecommunity，thatistosay，totheState。Notonlyaretheynaturallywantinginatasteforpublicbusiness，buttheyhavefrequentlynotimetoattendtoit。Privatelifeissobusyindemocraticperiods，soexcited，sofullofwishesandofwork，thathardlyanyenergyorleisureremainstoeachindividualforpubliclife。Iamthelastmantocontendthatthesepropensitiesareunconquerable，sincemychiefobjectinwritingthisbookhasbeentocombatthem。Ionlymaintainthatatthepresentdayasecretpowerisfosteringtheminthehumanheart，andthatiftheyarenotcheckedtheywillwhollyovergrowit。
[Footnotea:SeeAppendixW。]
Ihavealsohadoccasiontoshowhowtheincreasingloveofwell—being，andthefluctuatingcharacterofproperty，causedemocraticnationstodreadallviolentdisturbance。Theloveofpublictranquillityisfrequentlytheonlypassionwhichthesenationsretain，anditbecomesmoreactiveandpowerfulamongsttheminproportionasallotherpassionsdroopanddie。Thisnaturallydisposesthemembersofthecommunityconstantlytogiveortosurrenderadditionalrightstothecentralpower，whichaloneseemstobeinterestedindefendingthembythesamemeansthatitusestodefenditself。Asinagesofequalitynomaniscompelledtolendhisassistancetohisfellow—men，andnonehasanyrighttoexpectmuchsupportfromthem，everyoneisatonceindependentandpowerless。Thesetwoconditions，whichmustneverbeeitherseparatelyconsideredorconfoundedtogether，inspirethecitizenofademocraticcountrywithverycontrarypropensities。Hisindependencefillshimwithself—relianceandprideamongsthisequals;hisdebilitymakeshimfeelfromtimetotimethewantofsomeoutwardassistance，whichhecannotexpectfromanyofthem，becausetheyareallimpotentandunsympathizing。Inthispredicamenthenaturallyturnshiseyestothatimposingpowerwhichalonerisesabovethelevelofuniversaldepression。Ofthatpowerhiswantsandespeciallyhisdesirescontinuallyremindhim，untilheultimatelyviewsitasthesoleandnecessarysupportofhisownweakness。*bThismaymorecompletelyexplainwhatfrequentlytakesplaceindemocraticcountries，wheretheverymenwhoaresoimpatientofsuperiorspatientlysubmittoamaster，exhibitingatoncetheirprideandtheirservility。
[Footnoteb:Indemocraticcommunitiesnothingbutthecentralpowerhasanystabilityinitspositionoranypermanenceinitsundertakings。Allthemembersofsocietyareinceaselessstirandtransformation。Nowitisinthenatureofallgovernmentstoseekconstantlytoenlargetheirsphereofaction;henceitisalmostimpossiblethatsuchagovernmentshouldnotultimatelysucceed，becauseitactswithafixedprincipleandaconstantwill，uponmen，whoseposition，whosenotions，andwhosedesiresareincontinualvacillation。Itfrequentlyhappensthatthemembersofthecommunitypromotetheinfluenceofthecentralpowerwithoutintendingit。Democraticagesareperiodsofexperiment，innovation，andadventure。Atsuchtimestherearealwaysamultitudeofmenengagedindifficultornovelundertakings，whichtheyfollowalone，withoutcaringfortheirfellowmen。Suchpersonsmaybereadytoadmit，asageneralprinciple，thatthepublicauthorityoughtnottointerfereinprivateconcerns;but，byanexceptiontothatrule，eachofthemcravesforitsassistanceintheparticularconcernonwhichheisengaged，andseekstodrawupontheinfluenceofthegovernmentforhisownbenefit，thoughhewouldrestrictitonallotheroccasions。Ifalargenumberofmenapplythisparticularexceptiontoagreatvarietyofdifferentpurposes，thesphereofthecentralpowerextendsinsensiblyinalldirections，althougheachofthemwishesittobecircumscribed。