Although a democratic government is founded upon a very simple and natural principle, it always presupposes the existence of a high degree of culture and enlightenment in society.

*d At the first glance it may be imagined to belong to the earliest ages of the world; but maturer observation will convince us that it could only come last in the succession of human history.
[Footnote d: It is needless to observe that I speak here of the democratic form of government as applied to a people, not merely to a tribe.] Charges Levied By The State Under The Rule Of The American Democracy In all communities citizens divisible into three classes--Habits of each of these classes in the direction of public finances--Why public expenditure must tend to increase when the people governs--What renders the extravagance of a democracy less to be feared in America--Public expenditure under a democracy.
Before we can affirm whether a democratic form of government is economical or not, we must establish a suitable standard of comparison.
The question would be one of easy solution if we were to attempt to draw a parallel between a democratic republic and an absolute monarchy.

The public expenditure would be found to be more considerable under the former than under the latter; such is the case with all free States compared to those which are not so.

It is certain that despotism ruins individuals by preventing them from producing wealth, much more than by depriving them of the wealth they have produced; it dries up the source of riches, whilst it usually respects acquired property.

Freedom, on the contrary, engenders far more benefits than it destroys; and the nations which are favored by free institutions invariably find that their resources increase even more rapidly than their taxes.
My present object is to compare free nations to each other, and to point out the influence of democracy upon the finances of a State.
Communities, as well as organic bodies, are subject to certain fixed rules in their formation which they cannot evade.