Excerpt from Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy I have endeavored in the following pages, not to describe democracy, - something which has been done by abler hands than mine, - hut to describe some of the departures it has made from the ways which its earlier promoters expected it to follow. It has done a great many things which they never thought it would do, and has left undone a great many things which they thought it would do. Not nearly all the deductions from the principle of equality have been correct. The growth of democracy has dissipated a good many fears about the "mob;" but on the other hand it has failed to realize a good many expectations about its conduct of government. Nearly all the philosophers, from Tocqueville down, and especially the English Radicals of the earlier part of the century, would he surprised by some of its developments. No democratic state comes anywhere near their ideal. Unexpected desires and prejudices have revealed themselves. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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A critical analysis of the challenges and dangers posed by democracy to the stability and prosperity of modern societies. Godkin argues that the naive assumptions and unrealistic expectations of democratic ideology have led to corruption, demagoguery, and tyranny, and that a strong and independent press and judiciary are necessary safeguards against these tendencies. He also examines the role of education, religion, and culture in the formation of civic virtues and political wisdom. This thought-provoking book is a classic of political theory and commentary. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.