Download full text
(65.50Kb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-430997
Exports for your reference manager
Rethinking liberal democracy: prelude to totalitarianism
[journal article]
Abstract In the long course of human evolution and political experimentation, liberal democracy, especially after the events of 1989, has come to be seen as the best political system. In fact, we seemed to have reached the only system compatible with liberty, after the dreadful experiences of Communist and N... view more
In the long course of human evolution and political experimentation, liberal democracy, especially after the events of 1989, has come to be seen as the best political system. In fact, we seemed to have reached the only system compatible with liberty, after the dreadful experiences of Communist and Nazi totalitarianism, and its twin in the economic realm - capitalism. But is liberalism really conducive to freedom? I argue that evil - or totalitarianism - arises from the combination of both the Platonic and Augustinian views: ignorance of values and the pursuit of one’s egotistic desires. Evil has an essentially private nature. In this sense, totalitarianism may arise from a utilitarian culture that sees people - or some forms of knowledge - as worthless and disposable objects.... view less
Keywords
democracy; liberalism; political system; freedom; value-orientation; totalitarianism; utilitarism
Classification
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Political Science
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
Page/Pages
p. 9-18
Journal
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, 1 (2015) 1
ISSN
1857-9760
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed