Tocqueville effect

Social phenomenon

The Tocqueville effect (also known as the Tocqueville paradox)[1] is the phenomenon in which, as social conditions and opportunities improve, social frustration grows more quickly.[2][3]

## Definition

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The effect is based on Alexis de Tocqueville's observations on the French Revolution and later reforms in Europe and the United States. Another way to describe the effect is the aphorism "the appetite grows by what it feeds on".[4] For instance, after greater social justice is achieved, there may be more fervent opposition to even smaller social injustices than before.

The effect suggests a link between social equality or concessions by the regime and unintended consequences, as social reforms can raise expectations that are difficult to fulfill.[5] According to the Tocqueville effect, a revolution is likely to occur after an improvement in social conditions, in contrast to Marx's theory of revolution as a result of progressive immiseration of the proletariat (deterioration of conditions).[6]

Around 1950, Harlan Cleveland introduced the phrase revolution of rising expectations,[7][8] which in his Cold War context he considered particularly relevant to the Third World. Relatedly, political scientist James Chowning Davies has proposed a J curve of revolutions, which contends that periods of wealth and advancement are followed by periods of declining conditions, eventually leading to a revolution.[9] Ted Robert Gurr also used the term relative deprivation to put forth that revolutions happen when there is an expectation of improvement, and a harsh reality in contrast.[10]

There’s a higher likelihood of the Tocqueville paradox occurring in centrally planned but locally implemented reforms when local implementation falls short of the higher reference point. [10]

## Origin

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Alexis de Tocqueville first described the phenomenon in his book Democracy in America (1840):

> The hatred that men bear to privilege increases in proportion as privileges become fewer and less considerable, so that democratic passions would seem to burn most fiercely just when they have least fuel. I have already given the reason for this phenomenon. When all conditions are unequal, no inequality is so great as to offend the eye, whereas the slightest dissimilarity is odious in the midst of general uniformity; the more complete this uniformity is, the more insupportable the sight of such a difference becomes. Hence it is natural that the love of equality should constantly increase together with equality itself, and that it should grow by what it feeds on.[11]

The reform and revolution paradox was explained in his next book, The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856):[10]

> The regime that a revolution destroys is almost always better than the one that immediately preceded it, and experience teaches that the most dangerous time for a bad government is usually when it begins to reform.

## See also

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* Dissolution of the Soviet Union after Perestroika and Glasnost having been instated
* Progress and Poverty
* Relative deprivation
* Jevons paradox
* Huang Zongxi's Law
* Hedonic treadmill

## References

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1. ^ Elster, Jon (2009-04-27). Alexis de Tocqueville, the First Social Scientist. Cambridge University Press. p. 162\. ISBN 9780521518444.
2. ^ Swedberg, Richard (2009). Tocqueville's Political Economy. Princeton University Press. p. 260\. ISBN 9781400830084.
3. ^ Mackie, Gerry (November 1995). "Frustration and preference change in international migration". European Journal of Sociology. 36 (2): 185–208\. doi:10.1017/S0003975600007530. S2CID 144656626.
4. ^ Vernon, Richard (July 1987). "Citizenship and Employment in an Age of High Technology". British Journal of Industrial Relations. 25 (2). Blackwell Publishing: 201–225\. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8543.1987.tb00709.x.
5. ^ Vernon, Ronald (February 1979). "Unintended Consequences". Political Theory. 07 (1). Sage Publications: 57–73\. doi:10.1177/009059177900700104. JSTOR 190824. S2CID 220894174.
6. ^ Elster, Jon (2011). Tocqueville: The Ancien Régime and the French Revolution (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. xv. ISBN 978-1139498814.
7. ^ "Explorations in OEEC History" (PDF). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
8. ^ "New Paradigm: The Necessity and the Opportunity" (PDF). World Academy of Art & Science. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
9. ^ Davies, James Chowning (1978). "The J-Curve Theory". American Political Science Review. 72 (4): 1357–1358\. doi:10.1017/S0003055400159532. ISSN 0003-0554.
10. ^ a b c Finkel, Evgeny; Gehlbach, Scott (November 4, 2018). "The Tocqueville Paradox: When Does Reform Provoke Rebellion?" (PDF). Harvard University Information Technology. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
11. ^ Tocqueville, Alexis de (1840). "Chapter III: That the sentiments of democratic nations accord with their opinions in leading them to concentrate political power". Democracy in America. London: Saunders and Otley. p. 271-272.

* v
* t
* e

Alexis de Tocqueville

Books|

* Democracy in America (1835, 1840)
* The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856)

Concepts|

* American exceptionalism
* Mutual liberty
* Soft despotism
* Soft tyranny
* Tocqueville effect

In culture|

* The Alexis de Tocqueville Tour: Exploring Democracy in America (1997–1998)
* Parrot and Olivier in America (2010)
* Dream On (2015)

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