Tocqueville's Machiavellianism

Abstract

Tocqueville's sole reference to Machiavelli in Democracy in America is a nicely located misquotation. This article makes much of it, more than one would likely think possible. Tocqueville's mission was to replace Machiavelli in his role of captain-philosopher and to save the aristocratic element in democracy that Machiavelli believed should be dispensed with.