Tocqueville was a Frenchman interested in America and its democratic plan. He talked about his observations about America in his book Democracy in America. Tocqueville's attitude towards Americans seems to be very appreciative. He saw democracy as a perfect balance between freedom and equality. However, while he appreciates this, he is also quite critical of some of the effects of democracy in America. Tocqueville believed that there were some flaws in democracy and states them in his book. One of these flaws that Tocqueville talks about is the influence that democracy has on America. Democracy gives everyone a chance to have a say in their government. Americans believe that democracy is a great thing. However, Tocqueville discussed the influences that this cult of democracy created. Tocqueville, for example, states that Americans do not consider philosophy important and do not have their own philosophical school. Yet even without paying much attention to philosophy, Americans all think the same way. This similar philosophy uses the same method of depending on one's own understanding and opinion to make decisions. Tocqueville believed that this method was used by Americans because of the aversion they feel to accepting things just because the authorities say so and instead they need to think for themselves. Instead of accepting what the authorities say, Americans believe that nothing is impossible to understand and that everything can be explained using their own judgment about things. This dependence on a person's judgment also leads Americans to distrust all things supernatural. Tocqueville's observations here seem to be quite critical and seem to look at Americans' reverence for their j...... middle of paper ...... no need to worry about creating new art or new literature when they can simply rely on Europe. This can also be seen as part of the apathy created by individualism. Tocqueville believes this is another problem with democracy and its influence. Tocqueville seems to appreciate democracy in its ideal form. However, nothing can be perfect and therefore America is not a perfect democracy. Tocqueville found numerous problems with democracy and the influence it had on the population. These problems range from distrust of dogmatic beliefs to the imperfect equality in place in America. He also found the effects of these problems to be quite problematic. For example, individualism, an effect of equality, is very problematic for democracy. Tocqueville enjoys considering America as an experiment in democracy, but he does not find it flawless.