A Tocqueville Conservative

I have often described myself as a classical liberal, to tweak and confuse both my liberal and my conservative friends. (Yes, I have friends on both sides.) In a recent post, my brother waxed eloquent on the weaknesses of American democracy and coined the apt phrase "Tocqueville conservative"—at least I've never heard anyone else use it before.

The entire blog entry is worth a read, but here's a short preview:

The opposite of the classical liberal, the modern liberal believes that if a thing is good, then government should find a way to provide or mandate it.... The Tocqueville conservative, who is akin to the classical liberal, believes not only that freedom (liberty) is good and that unrestrained government is its natural antagonist, but also that there are ways to provide effectively for the needs and wants of a people through voluntary associations.