Democratic nations, such as America, pride themselves on equality of conditions. “The first and most tense passion that is produced by equality of condition is the love of that equality (Tocqueville v2, p94).” Men love equality because it gives everyone equality of opinions and equality of worth, which means that no one person, is any better than anyone else. Americans do not believe just one person because their opinion is eq

ual to that one person’s opinion; but if the majority holds that same opinion then that one person will conform to the majority. “At periods of equality men have no faith in one anther, by reason of their common resemblance; but this very resemblance gives them almost unbounded confidence in the judgement of the public (Tocqueville v2, p10).” This equality on an individual basis leads to a sense of individualism.

Equality of condition leads to a sense of individualism. Since everyone is equal and on an individual basis no one needs or wants anything from anyone else, a sense of individualism or isolation arises. “Democracy makes every man forget his ancestors and it hides his descendants and separates his contemporaries from him; it throws him back forever upon himself alone and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart (Tocqueville v2, p99).” This independence on an individual level leads to isolationism and therefore, leads to a feeling of dependence upon the government. As citizens become more dependent on the government, their desire for want the government to take care of them increases, because they are no longer individually connected to each other. A citizens’ “independence fills him with self-reliance and pride among his equals; his debility makes him feel from time to time the want of some outward assistance” (Tocqueville v2, p294). This growing reliance on the government increases its power while at the same time taking away freedom from the citizens. Even though citizens of democratic nations would rather not be lead by one person, they are willing to be lead by the government as a whole, because it is seen as the majority authority. The citizens’ de

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