Alexis de Tocqueville was one of the most important political thinkers of the 19th century and one of the most authentic and profound representatives of the liberal tradition. His work is characterized by insight, the power of generalization, vigorous style, restrained optimism, caution, elusive nostalgia, and intense criticism of a world that is fading away.

Among his scholars, he is regarded simultaneously as an aristocrat, sociologist, historian, bourgeois, Christian, agnostic, and political philosopher. John Stuart Mill, the most authentic representative of classical liberalism, writes about Democracy in America: “The English public now knows and reads the first philosophical book that has ever been written about Democracy, as it manifests itself in modern society.” Indeed, this work, although written more than a century ago, remains a reference point for contemporary political thought, retaining the freshness, brilliance of thought, and prophetic vision of its creator.

In its pages, the reader will find not only a panoramic view of the foundational elements that constituted the then young American nation, not only extensive analyses of the democratic governance system, the judiciary, and the federal constitution, not only important observations about the Indians and their inevitable extinction, not only remarkably clear references to the multi-religious, multicultural, and multilingual character of this open society, but also profound reflections on equality and freedom as foundational values of democracy, the relationships between equality and freedom, and the possibilities of their reconciliation.

In this sense, this work transcends the American case and becomes a general and comprehensive analysis of democracy in our times.