Tocqueville conceives early his concept of political participation, within a particular philosophical context: the theory of civilization elaborated by his teacher, Guizot. In that context, Tocqueville outlines his theory of aristocratic civilization, in connection with the Germanic sense of liberty. His concept of democratic civilization is actually an analysis of the several layer which compose the European idea of democratic liberty. The American sense of municipal liberty keeps some traces of the aristocratic political civilization. It is a rare result of history, which clashes with modern rationalism and its universalistic tendency.