Democracy in America

Tocqueville continues his theme of American materialism, arguing that this also extends to artistic expression. Because of their pragmatism, “Democratic nations, in which all these things are encountered, will therefore cultivate the arts that serve to render life convenient in preference to those whose object is to embellish it” (439). Aristocratic taste, by contrast, is driven less by pragmatism and more by cultural habit, which a select group of artisans learn to satisfy. In democracies consumer demand reaches the entire population, so there is more pressure to produce lower-quality goods at affordable prices. Tocqueville asserts, “In aristocracies, a few great pictures are done, and in democratic countries, a multitude of small paintings. In the first they raise statues of bronze and in the second they pour out statues of plaster” (442). In contrast to their limited artistic vision, Americans build grand monuments to represent the nation. Tocqueville argues that this is because the idea of the nation looms so large: “nation. Nowhere else does the nation itself seem greater, nor does the mind more readily make a vast picture of it” (443). This explains the grand architecture of Washington, DC, especially the fact that the legislative building has “the pompous name of Capitol” (444).