Alexis de Tocqueville (1805 - 1859) was best known for his work Democracy in America, published as two volumes in 1835 and 1840, after he travelled extensively in the United States. As a French diplomat and historian, he analyzed living standards and social conditions related to markets in Western societies. Tocqueville more or less launched the fields of sociology and political science. Tocqueville was skeptical of democracy's extremes, and advocated for parliamentary government. His book, Democracy in America is included in most U.S. high school curriculum.
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