《论美国的民主·卷一·第十六章上·缓和多数暴政的原因·法学家精神》第2节
This point deserves attention, for if a democratic republic similar to that of the United States were ever founded in a country where the power of a single individual had previously subsisted, and the effects of a centralized administration had sunk deep into the habits and the laws of the people, I do not hesitate to assert, that in that country a more insufferable despotism would prevail than any which now exists in the monarchical States of Europe, or indeed than any which could be found on this side of the confines of Asia. The Profession Of The Law In The United States Serves To Counterpoise The Democracy In visiting the Americans and in studying their laws we perceive that the authority they have entrusted to members of the legal profession, and the influence which these individuals exercise in the Government, is the most powerful existing security against the excesses of democracy. This effect seems to me to result from a general cause which it is useful to investigate, since it may produce analogous consequences elsewhere. The members of the legal profession have taken an important part in all the vicissitudes of political society in Europe during the last five hundred years. At one time they have been the instruments of those who were invested with political authority, and at another they have succeeded in converting political authorities into their instrument. In the Middle Ages they afforded a powerful support to the Crown, and since that period they have exerted themselves to the utmost to limit the royal prerogative. In England they have contracted a close alliance with the aristocracy; in France they have proved to be the most dangerous enemies of that class. It is my object to inquire whether, under all these circumstances, the members of the legal profession have been swayed by sudden and momentary impulses; or whether they have been impelled by principles which are inherent in their pursuits, and which will always recur in history. I am incited to this investigation by reflecting that this particular class of men will most likely play a prominent part in that order of things to which the events of our time are giving birth.
注释摘要
托克维尔在此处做了一个他全书中最具预言性也最令人不安的反事实推论。他的推理逻辑很清晰：美国的多数虽然常常表现出专横的倾向，但它在行政上并不集权，中央政府的命令必须委托给乡镇、县市这些地方机构去执行，而这些机构构成了缓冲民众激情的隐藏防波堤。如果换一个国家，它既有民主共和的政治形式，又从君主制时代继承了一套深入民情与法律的中央集权行政机器，那么这个新生的民主…