Roberto Foa and Yascha Mounk discusses a wide variety of things that pertain to the survival of democracy. One of their worries, which Tocqueville as “intermediary associations”, are the informal mechanisms that sustain a liberal democracy. These mechanisms/associations are defined as “the groups in between the government and the family that exist as arbiters and regulators of society” (Foa and Mounk 7). Foa and Mounk then identify factors that are degrading the strength of these mechanisms/associations and conclude that politicians are acting too much like businessmen and the system is too open now leading people to be able to do whatever they want. To prevent this peril from reducing the chance this democracy has for survival, there needs to be a series of balances that Foa and Mounk later introduce. The first is the balance between aristocratic and democratic ruling, the second is between popular passions and public policy, and the final is between checks and balances. All of these opposing forces need to strike a cooperative balance to prevent one party from gaining too much power and acting selfishly to reduce the justices and freedoms of its citizens.