In Chapter XII de
Tocqueville describes ‘‘[t]he daily use the Anglo-Americans make of the right of
association’’ (p. 191) and analyzes how exercising this right furthers the
pluralization of society in a republican state. In allusion to the federal structure
of the country, de Tocqueville introduces the important distinction between
‘‘permanent associations’’ (established by law under the names of townships, cities,
and counties) and ‘‘voluntary associations’’ (i.e., associations maintained voluntarily
‘‘by the agency of private individuals’’.