October 3, 2012
HOW ABOUT WE GO WITH...:
Has Democracy Died? : The author of After Tocqueville: The Promise and Failure of Democracy explains why he believes democracy is misunderstood, over-hyped, and underwhelming. (Carl E. Olson, 10/02/12, Catholic World Report)
CWR: As you demonstrate, it wasn't that long ago that democracy was considered impractical if not impossible. What changed? How did democracy become such a central notion--or even sacred belief--in the West? Why are we so enamored with "Democracy"?Williamson: Democracy became a central--and, as you say, actually a sacred--notion when modern democrats lost touch with metaphysical reality to the point where they could no longer apprehend the reality of the human condition. When God "died," and human beings discovered themselves, as they think, capable of realizing the Christian God's plan for His Creation without His help and strictly by their own efforts (meaning scientific and pseudo-scientific means, like sociology)--that is when "Democracy" became, for them, a fully realizable goal.
...when the democratic Anglosphere won the Long War, instead? Had Bonapartism, socialism, communism, Nazism, Maoism, Baathism, Salafism, or any of the other isms succeeded the rout wouldn't be quite so thorough.
Posted by Orrin Judd at October 3, 2012 8:22 PM
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