Democracy - A Work in Progress: An Irreverent Exercise in Political Thought
()
About this ebook
So how should mankind organise itself to ensure a civilised society?
In this personal, and sometimes challenging, work the author argues that an idealised form of political government has been the goal of mankind since Plato himself. But political thinking has overwhelmingly been a theoretical exercise detached from reality. Little consideration was given to the fact that it is humans - who do not behave as rationally as political theories are bound to assume - who must implement these theories. Flawed humans who are driven by the forces of prejudice, feelings, emotions, etc. These immutable and distinctive characteristics of the imperfect human ensure that democracy has been impossible to achieve.
Democracy will never be perfect. One can only hope for small, incremental improvements. Any attempt to force radical changes is doomed to failure.
Related to Democracy - A Work in Progress
Related ebooks
Paranoid Systems of History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Architecture of Political Ideology: Foundations and Structures of Belief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeopolitics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Public and Its Problems: An Essay in Political Inquiry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe United Nations as Leviathan: Global Governance in the Post-American World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoerike, Hegel, and Other German Authors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiberty and Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConsiderations on Representative Government Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy, Fascism and the New World Order Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Democratic Tyranny and the Islamic Paradigm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story of Philosophy: From the Ancient Greeks to Great Thinkers of Modern Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost in Ideology: Interpreting Modern Political Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe State and Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Modern State and Its Enemies: Democracy, Nationalism and Antisemitism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy from the Grass Roots: A Guide to Creative Political Action Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Degree in a Book: Philosophy: Everything You Need to Know to Master the Subject - in One Book! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Modern State Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Democracy in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Defense of Anarchism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Whole Which Is Greater: Why the Wisconsin “Uprising” Failed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Evolution of the American Democracy: Evolution Series, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Liberty and Other Essays (with an Introduction by A. D. Lindsay) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApproaching the End: Eschatological Reflection on Church, Politics and Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Space: Genesis and Background: Between Vertical Liberty and Horizontal Respect Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntroduction to Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn Locke: Unlocking Enlightenment, a Journey through John Locke's Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWas Frankenstein Really Uncle Sam? Vol Ix: Notes on the State of the Declaration of Independence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Politics For You
Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The U.S. Constitution with The Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Capitalism and Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Islamophila: A Very Metropolitan Malady Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of The 48 Laws of Power: by Robert Greene | Summary & Analysis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twilight of the Shadow Government: How Transparency Will Kill the Deep State Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jordan Peterson: Critical Responses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonfire: Four Days That (Almost) Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Wreckage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Money: how a secretive group of billionaires is trying to buy political control in the US Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ever Wonder Why?: And Other Controversial Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Souls of Black Folk: Original Classic Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Closing of the American Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Democracy - A Work in Progress
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Democracy - A Work in Progress - Ernest Lamers
DEMOCRACY — A WORK IN PROGRESS
AN IRREVERENT EXERCISE IN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Ernest Lamers
SOCIETAS
essays in political
& cultural criticism
imprint-academic.com
Copyright © Ernest Lamers, 2019
The moral rights of the author have been asserted. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism and discussion.
2020 digital version converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Published in the UK by
Imprint Academic Ltd., PO Box 200, Exeter EX5 5YX, UK
Jacket illustration: Philipp Foltz (1853) Pericles Funeral Oration
, by courtesy of Stiftung Maximilianeum, München.
For if truth be at all within reach of human capacity, ’tis certain it must lie very deep and abstruse; and to hope we shall arrive at it without pains, must certainly be esteemed sufficiently vain and presumptuous.
—David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature
Preface
In the eyes of the many, democracy has an aura of near sanctity. Government by the people, what could be of greater moral value than allowing people the freedom, the right to decide their own political fate.
Almost universally, democracy is seen as an, or even THE, ideal. It has become the standard of political legitimacy, based on a principle that is clear and simple. But the simplicity ends with that principle, as it has given rise to an uninterrupted stream of interpretations, definitions, political theories and philosophies—all pretending to catch its essence but with little agreement on what a political regime should entail to be labelled democratic.
At this point I cannot resist quoting that sharp observer of political life—I mean, of course, Sir Winston Churchill—who famously said, and I give you the complete quote: Many forms of government have been tried before, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. Nobody pretends democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those that have been tried from time to time.
[1]
What I find remarkable is that Sir Winston Churchill refrains from defining democracy as an ideal, let alone THE ideal. But there seems to be a slight disappointment between the lines, unconsciously perhaps: is this the best we could come up with after hundreds of years of wrestling with the issue of what the best form of government should be?
It wasn’t for a lack of trying though. Political theorists and philosophers have since time immemorial devoted great energy to developing systems of government to meet the highest standards. But this perennial debate had one particular feature that was—and still is—practically common to all political thought. Beginning with Plato and continuing through the centuries to modern times, theories have been overwhelmingly normative, i.e. on what-ought-to-be instead of what can realistically be done to achieve good governance. To coin and expression, I would call such theorizing as suffering from an ought symdrome
.
Thinking about the res publica, and about democracy in particular, should be firmly grounded in the terra firma of (political) reality, or lack relevance. The deep-seated weak–ness of most theories or philosophies is that they ignore what Raymond Aron has called "l’inévitable imperfection de la nature humaine et de ses institutions". The irrationality and imperfection of the human mind cannot simply be swept aside.
Ought
thinking strikes me as comparable to the work of an architect who designs a house, a bridge or whatever without knowledge of the properties of the materials he intends to use. His design may be beautiful, but the structure may collapse at an early stage if he misjudges the strengths and weaknesses of the material.
And the main material here, in rebus politicis, is Man. Human reality can’t be moulded to suit a particular theory. From the crooked timber of humanity nothing straight can be carved
(Kant).
A second, rather common, peculiarity of most political theorizing is what, in an ugly expression, I would call illusional thinking
. It is not just the normative thinking that often leads man astray, but also the confidence, the illusion that ideal solutions can be found.
The concept of the perfect society is one of the oldest and most deeply pervasive elements in Western thought
, says Isaiah Berlin.[2] In his introduction to his classic Four Essays on Liberty, he argues that it is mistaken that this ancient and almost universal belief, on which so much traditional thought and action and philosophical doctrine rests, seems to me invalid, and at times to have led (and still to lead) to absurdities in theory and barbarous consequences in practice.
[3] History provide ample proof to Berlin’s thesis.
It is my intention to illustrate in what follows how man’s imperfection coupled with illusional thinking
more often than not leads to less than optimal results.
The State
, as an institution, a structure, might constitute an appropriate starting point for these reflections (Chapter I). The State is the skeleton on which a system of government—any system of government—is grafted. Without a state, no government. And no democracy, of course.
A next step (Chapter II) takes the argument to Democracy
with a, perhaps biased, focus on its shortcomings, followed by a discourse (Chapter III) on the Political Arena
, the place where the action is and where the political battles are fought.
Democracy, as a human institution, will never attain perfection. In the Conclusion
, I venture to make a few suggestions on what could possibly mitigate some of the weaknesses.
1 Speech in the House of Commons, November 1917
2 Isaiah Berlin, Against the Current (1979), edited by Henry Hardy, London: Pimlico (1997), p. 120.
3 Oxford University Press (1969), 1988, pp. lv–lvi.
The State
- 1 -
If the state did not exist, would it be necessary to invent it?
[1] A somewhat surprising question perhaps, raised by Harvard philosopher Robert Nozick who was not above throwing the occasional stone in a quiet pond. It is, in fact, the opening sentence of his 1974 classic Anarchy, State and Utopia. For good measure he added on the next page: The fundamental question of political philosophy, one that precedes questions about how the state should be organized, is whether there should be a state at all.
[2]
A fundamental question indeed that has preoccupied philosophers since Plato. Thomas Hobbes, who preceded Nozick by