A Fool's Errand

Tocqueville said this about the creation of the United States Constitution.

But that which is new in the history of societies is to see a great people, warned by its lawgivers that the wheels of government are stopping, turn its attention on itself without haste or fear, sound the depth of the ill, and then wait for two years to find the remedy at leisure, and then finally, when the remedy has been indicated, submit to it voluntarily without its costing humanity a single tear or drop of blood.

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

Tocqueville did not say this merely because it is a fact. He said it because it is an important fact.

Countries who wish to export democracy and freedom should meditate on his words and plumb their meaning.

Otherwise, they may be embarking on a fool’s errand.