{"product_id":"alexis-de-tocqueville-the-first-social-scientist-hardback-9780521518444","title":"Alexis de Tocqueville, the First Social Scientist (Hardback) 9780521518444","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAlexis de Tocqueville, the First Social Scientist\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eArguing that Tocqueville was fundamentally a social scientist rather than a political theorist, Elster emphasizes Tocqueville's substantive and methodological insights.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eJon Elster (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521518444, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 27 April 2009\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e212 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.44 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'There is much ingenuity in the arguments put forward here and a refreshing newness of approach … The fresh air of new scholarship and new approaches can only invigorate.' Contemporary Review\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThe book proposes a new interpretation of Alexis de Tocqueville that views him first and foremost as a social scientist rather than as a political theorist. Drawing on his earlier work on the explanation of social behavior, Elster argues that Tocqueville's main claim to our attention today rests on the large number of exportable causal mechanisms to be found in his work, many of which are still worthy of further exploration. Elster proposes a novel reading of Democracy in America in which the key explanatory variable is the rapid economic and political turnover rather than equality of wealth at any given point in time. He also offers a reading of The Ancien Régime and the Revolution as grounded in the psychological relations among the peasantry, the bourgeoisie, and the nobility. Consistently going beyond exegetical commentary, he argues that Tocqueville is eminently worth reading today for his substantive and methodological insights.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. Preference formation\u003cbr\u003e 2. Belief formation\u003cbr\u003e 3. Self-interest and individualism\u003cbr\u003e 4. Passions\u003cbr\u003e 5. Desires, opportunities, capacities\u003cbr\u003e 6. Patterns of social causality\u003cbr\u003e 7. Equality and mobility\u003cbr\u003e 8. Democratic government\u003cbr\u003e 9. Revolution.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Political science \u0026amp; theory [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Political science \u0026amp; theory\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Political%20science%20\u0026amp;%20theory%20%5BJPA%5D%22\"\u003eJPA\u003c\/a\u003e], History of ideas [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of ideas\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20ideas%20%5BJFCX%5D%22\"\u003eJFCX\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46019751641368,"sku":"9780521518444","price":43.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521740074_6f550cca-667f-4a9c-982f-dea9886af977.jpg?v=1691383506","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/alexis-de-tocqueville-the-first-social-scientist-hardback-9780521518444","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}