democracy
“One of the best jokes of democracy [was that] it provided its mortal enemies itself the means through which it was annihilated,” claimed Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, articulating what we now call the paradox of democracy.[1] It was precisely this concern that drove political scientist Karl Loewenstein to coin
democracy
In American politics, it is sometimes claimed that democratic majorities must never be “in chains,” as the historian Nancy MacLean has recently reminded us. This phrase is a truly remarkable piece of loaded language, because nobody likes chains. Chains are awful! And everybody likes democracy, provided we collectively forget about
democracy
The Liberal Currents Podcast LC Podcast #1: The New Liberal Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds 00:00 / 30:58 Subscribe Share Apple Podcasts Stitcher Google Podcasts Spotify RSS Feed Share Link Embed Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 30:
democracy
No modern defense of democracy needs to rely solely on first principles. Unlike our liberal forebears who struggled to constrain the arbitrary and expansive powers of kings and aristocrats, we know that representative, constitutional democracy works. The hockey-stick plot of per capita income over the centuries that the economic historian
democracy
Libertarians have long harbored reservations about democracy, and some of their concerns have lately won mainstream attention amid an ongoing crisis of democratic confidence. Now, it could be that libertarians just don’t like losing elections. It’s never quite proper, though, to ask about an arguer’s hidden motives
civil disobedience
In moments of crisis for the liberal democratic system, it’s worth asking ourselves whether the system is even worth it. When human rights are being violated and unjust wars waged in our names, when some of us can be killed by the authorities with impunity, and when a liberal