Tocqueville and Young on freedom

The Conflict between Freedom and Equality Tocqueville noted the profound contrast between individual freedom and political freedom in his critique of American democracy. He observed that the people had a great passion for freedom and liberty, they were filled with beliefs rooted in idealism and founded by illusion. Americans also believed in a system based on equality. However, this equality, in theory, meant that extraordinary individuals were leveled down, while lesser people were brought up …

…people were free to live according to their own individuality and respected all people's equal right to do so then there would be a coexistence of freedom and equality. The problem is that it would be incredibly hard to accomplish such a system. It's much easier to settle for equality of opportunity and abandon the ideal of freedom, in many ways that's what were doing now in the United States and much of the world.