This new abridged translation of Democracy in America reflects the
rich Tocqueville scholarship of the past forty years, and restores
chapters central to Tocqueville's analysis absent from previous
abridgments--including his discussions of enlightened self-interest
and the public's influence on ethical standards. Judicious notes
and a thoughtful Introduction offer aids to the understanding of a
masterpiece of nineteenth-century social thought that continues in
our own day to illuminate debates about the roles of liberty and
equality in American life.