IN 1835 Alexis de Tocqueville published his great study of Democracy in America. It was motivated by a fear and an. observation: The fear that the “providential fact” of equality in its inexorable march through history would destroy human freedom; and the observation that America had rooted its political system in the principle of equality, yet remained free. From this was born the hope that ways could be found to harmonize the principle of equality with that of liberty. In Equality and Liberty, Harry Jaffa continues the investigation of this problem in a spirit not unworthy of de Tocqueville. Like him, Jaffa maintains a quiet, studious attitude toward the great American experiment in equality. He seeks understanding through a careful analysis of American experience and thought on this principle up through the Civil War. He carefully avoids the civil rights controversy of our day, but his careful analysis of the pre-Civil War debate makes it clear that the problem of civil rights is a deeply imbedded one in American society.
Equality and Liberty, by Harry V. Jaffa. Oxford, $5.75
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