A 200-year-old warning by Alexis de Tocqueville about democracy and wealth redistribution resurfaces as a California union pushes for a 'billionaire tax.' Tocqueville, in his treatise 'Democracy in America,' cautioned that poor majorities could vote to seize the wealth of the rich, advocating for a strong middle class and representative government to temper such impulses. The proposal in California, where residents generally do not resent wealth, echoes Tocqueville's historical concerns.
In fact, the first warning about the tax came 200 years ago from a French traveler — Alexis de Tocqueville. Tocqueville was fascinated by the United States.
He admired its energy and optimism, which he believed France, and Europe, had lost. , and hatred that spread through Europe — along with the ideas of Karl Marx, who was Tocqueville’s contemporary — had not yet reached the U.S. Tocqueville explored the country and wrote a celebrated treatise, Democracy in America, which is still studied today. Tocqueville did more than record his observations about America during what was known as the Era of Good Feelings.
He knew that throughout history, the most powerful argument against democracy was that poor people, being greater in number, would vote to seize the property of the rich.
“In the United States,” Tocqueville wrote, “where the poor rule, the rich have always something to fear from the abuse of their power. ” In “some of the democratic republics of antiquity,” Tocqueville observed, “…the public treasure was exhausted in order to relieve indigent citizens,” as well as for public entertainment.
First, he argued, democratic societies needed a strong middle class, which owned property, such that “every man shall have something to keep and little to take from others. ” A strong middle class would also keep government spending in check: “The extravagance of democracy is less to be dreaded … in proportion as the people acquire a share of property. ” Second, he said, power could be exercised by representatives of the people, rather than directly the people themselves.
A republican form of government, in which people elect representatives, could help temper the passions of the majority — at least for a while. A union representing government workers has gathered signatures to put a “billionaire tax” on the ballot. It is normally the kind of idea that Californians would reject. We don’t hate the rich.
Most of us work for them, admire them, and hope to join them — in Silicon Valley, or in Hollywood. But we have also lost much of our middle class. The burden of taxes and regulations has fallen heaviest on homeowners, small business owners, and professionals. The billionaire tax is also being decided by referendum — not by our elected representatives, who usually consider tax bills first.
The people as a whole — 99.9% of whom are not billionaires — will decide whether to take the property of the other 0.1%. It leads to instability and conflict. It leads to economic collapse. And that, eventually, leads to tyranny.
Yet to make the case for freedom, he had to argue that democracy was not only a fair form of government, but also a more successful one. California has always been blessed with natural wealth. Gold, oil, rich soils, and abundant sunshine. But what made California the wealthiest society in the world is a system of laws that protects what we create, earn, and grow.
And we all dream of a world that is fair, and just, and where no one lacks anything. Yet Tocqueville reminds us that if we abuse our democracy to seize property, we will destroy what makes all Californians more prosperous and free.
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