Question: 1. Alexis de Tocqueville worried that "democracies" would become overly individualistic and succumb to "democratic despotism." Yet Tocqueville believed that the United States had in his time successfully steered clear of this danger. If Tocqueville were alive today, would he revise his evaluation? In your answer you should:
a) Explain Tocqueville's concern. How exactly did he link "democracy" to "individualism," and "individualism" to "democratic despotism"?
b) Describe and explain the forces that Tocqueville saw in American government and society which checked the tendency towards individualism and democratic despotism.
c) Imagine Tocqueville were alive today. Would he still be optimistic about the capacity of Americans to avoid the dangers he imagined? Is there evidence of growing individualism in the U.S.? Are the forces in American government and society which Tocqueville believed checked "individualism" and "democratic despotism" still operating, or have they withered? (MANDATORY)
2. Describe the powers of the President defined in the Constitution and explain how these powers have expanded throughout U.S. history to create the modern presidency.
3. Theorists have concluded that the strength of political parties in the U.S. is declining. What evidence have these theorist used to determine the weakening of political parties in American Politics?
4. Describe the historical conditions under which interest groups are likely to form, and specify the kinds of organizations Americans are most likely to join.
5. Using the Second Treatise and the US Constitution, describe some ideas that the Constitution seems to borrow from John Locke; discuss ideas that deviate from his philosophy as well.