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Full Idea
The partisans of centralisation in Europe are wont to maintain that the government can administer the affairs of each locality better than the citizens can do it for themselves.
Gist of Idea
In Europe it is thought that local government is best handled centrally
Source
Alexis de Tocqueville (Democracy in America (abr Renshaw) [1840], 1.04)
Book Ref
Tocqueville,Alexis de: 'Democracy in America (abridged)', ed/tr. Renshaw,Patrick [Wordsworth 1998], p.42
A Reaction
In the modern UK we have lots of local government, which is thoroughly starved of funds by the central government. He is contrasting it with the strong local system in the U.S.