Soft tyranny is an idea first developed by Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1835 work titled Democracy in America. It is described as the individualist preference for equality and its pleasures, requiring the state – as a tyrant majority or a benevolent authority – to step in and adjudicate.
Soft despotism is an idea first introduced by Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1835 work titled Democracy in America. It refers to the state's role in regulating individual preferences for equality and its associated pleasures, often through a mix of authoritarian and benevolent measures.