![]() Therefore they sink into a state of impotence, if they do not learn to help each other voluntarily.” But by joining forces in an association, individuals could solve the collective action problem. Tocqueville went on to describe two roles he saw associations playing in the United States. The first was to provide a means for solving collective problems: “Among democratic nations all citizens are independent and weak they can achieve almost nothing by themselves and none of them could force his fellows to help him. This well-known observation, however, is just the starting point for Tocqueville’s assessment. They establish hospitals, prisons, schools by the same method. Finally, if they wish to highlight a truth or develop an opinion by the encouragement of a great example, they form an association. ![]() … To hold fetes, found seminaries, build inns, construct churches, distribute books, dispatch missionaries to the antipodes. Americans of all ages, conditions and all dispositions constantly unite together. ![]()
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