Volume II, Book III, Chapter XVIII: Why Democratic Nations Naturally Desire Peace, and Democratic Armies, War
Alexis de Tocqueville
Tocqueville identifies commerce as a stabilizing force, subtly contrasting it with the romanticized view of revolution as a path to betterment. In an age when revolutions were seen as catalysts for progress, he suggests that the incremental adjustments of commerce might offer a more enduring path to freedom. This perspective emerged during a period when Europe was grappling with the aftershocks of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution was reshaping social dynamics.