In view of Alexis de Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher; yet it was through his critique of philosophy that he set forth a new, rethought liberalism. In Democracy in America, Tocqueville criticizes materialist philosophy for encouraging democracy’s habit of finding nothing in life but material pleasure and for depriving it of the pride excited by religion. In The Old Regime, he criticizes rationalist philosophy for seeking systems of reform that do not care about liberty. It is not hard to see the two philosophies as aspects of the modern political philosophy that is the source of liberalism: materialism for the sake of reform rather than resignation to the inevitable, and rationalism for the material improvement of life rather than contemplation.

In the Recollections, Tocqueville displays the pride he wants to add to liberalism—his own somewhat rueful pride—in an account of the Revolution of 1848 in France, which he witnessed and acted in. It is an account of failure, so hardly a triumph of pride. But it is also instructive to philosophers who fancy themselves statesmen and to citizens who let themselves be inspired by philosophers.

The Recollectionsdiffers markedly from Tocqueville’s other major works and was composed in between them, in 1850–55. At the beginning, he says he has been “removed momentarily from the theater of affairs” and is unable to pursue any continued study because of his health. In October 1849, he