Relevant Reading:

Non to Tocqueville!

Good morning, listeners! We have a special treat for you this Memorial Day weekend, as TAI Executive Committee Chairman Francis Fukuyama hosts TAI columnist Ben Judah to discuss Ben’s recent column on America’s favorite Frenchman.

Alexis de Tocqueville is widely regarded as one of the greatest political thinkers in the West, frequently invoked and quoted for his insights into civil society and American democracy. But have Tocqueville’s American acolytes fallen for a deliberately ahistorical version of Tocqueville—one that ignores his own views on colonialism and his broader intellectual project? And is that historical context relevant to our understanding of Democracy in America?

Tune in for a lively debate from Stanford University, and be sure to follow @aminterest, Francis Fukuyama (@FukuyamaFrancis), and Ben Judah (@b_judah) on Twitter. And don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes for regular episodes from our host Richard Aldous.