Reading Tocqueville in China

Introducing on the reception and popularity of Tocqueville’s ideas in China, this paper explores the certain theoretical perspectives that the existing scholarships have neglected or misunderstood. It argues that the idea of democratic despotism Tocqueville subtly addressed in the final part of the 1840 volume of Democracy in America can offer a useful lens for analyzing the situation in China. The paper draws upon examples of historical legacy and political reality to illustrate the relevance of Tocqueville’s idea. When Tocqueville’s vision does not fully capture the novel phenomenon of totalitarianism in the 20th century that China had gone through, the paper turns to the theoretical insights of another two thinkers – Friedrich A. Hayek and Hannah Arendt – to supplement our understanding of the daunting problem of ideological violence in Chinese politics and reflect on the prospects of freedom in China.