Why Tocqueville believes that equality leads to a love of centralized authority.

Equality makes men independent and unwilling to submit to another will. This love of political liberty leads to free institutions where one chooses leaders whose actions will support his own independence and freedom. In America, this has taken shape in centralized authority. One reason for this is that centralized authority is simple. In ages of equality, human behavior tends towards individualism. The natural tendency is then to focus on individual life, rather than that of …

…because it represents people from all over the country, rather than mere local concerns. Finally, because of the fear of secondary power (as exists in the aristocratic structure of government), egalitarian regimes more readily accept a centralized power. Centralized power is the instinctual answer to the individual's concerns in every political area because "Every central power which follows its natural instincts loves equality and favors it. For equality singularly facilitates, extends, and secures its influence."