Commenting upon the associative life of Americans in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville observed, “Americans of all ages, of all conditions, of all minds, constantly unite,”[1] associating in pursuit of large and small common aims. The robust associative life that so struck Tocqueville was, in his view, a direct consequence of the democratic social state: Because each democratic citizen feels weak and powerless as one among many disconnected equals, joining together links atomized people together and produces in them the sense of being powerful enough to achieve their own shared ends. Composed of many who only feel their strength collectively,…

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