Democracy and the Fall of the West (Societas)
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Product Description
Product Description
Democracy is killing the West. That is the stunning conclusion of this book that tears apart the consensus underpinning modern political assumptions. Democracy is held to solve one of the oldest puzzles of human social life: how do we ensure that our rulers have a legitimate mandate and rule in the interests of the whole community? We are supposedly now guided by institutions whose democratic mandate ensures that they will govern in a benign manner in the interests of all. Democracy & the Fall of the West challenges that assumption by drawing on an alternative theory about the nature of modern democracy and its impact on Western society. It argues that the secret of the West s success is not Democracy, but Liberalism. Craig Smith and Tom Miers demonstrate that, since the introduction of democracy, the power of the state has re-grown at the expense of the liberty of the individual. Far from underpinning our freedoms, Democracy is in fact undermining them. It has unshackled the coercive power of the state, and will result in the inevitable decline of the West as we know it.
About the Author
Craig Smith is a Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at St Andrews University. Tom Miers is an independent public policy consultant.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A great theory, and most informative. Basically explains how democracy has been leading us to rack and ruin over the last century. Plus it exposes what many always suspected: that our politicians are running amuck and to blame for the credit crunch, the underclass, poor schools and the rest. I really like the section that shows how the great philosophers of the past predicted this all along. Best of all, it's short, simple and a good read, unlike too many books of this kind.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
We've seen many 'revolutions' over the last twenty years of 'oppressed peoples' bursting their way out of their previous political systems to embrace democracy- which they all thought equated with freedom. Every time the press welcomes these poor people 'embracing democracy'. Most of them are actually in search of consumerism. The reality of democracy is somewhat different. I believe it was Saint-Simon who said in the nineteenth century "You English boast so much of your Parliamentary Democracy: but all this means is you vote away all your freedoms for the next five years."
Liberty is not achieved by demoracy it is achieved by minimalising the power of the state. That's what these guys are trying to explain. Worth a read.
Liberty is not achieved by demoracy it is achieved by minimalising the power of the state. That's what these guys are trying to explain. Worth a read.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a Doctoral student researching nation formation and state institutions I found this an interesting, but brief, discussion of democracy as concept, reality, ideology and infrastructure. The ideas here can be found scattered through the extant material on the subject, but the authors have collected them together to put forward what can best be described as a thesis proposal as the in-depth discussion necessary to explore and/or clinch their points has been jettisoned deliberately by the authors in the name of readability. As a student of this area, I enjoyed the brief read, but I would have liked to have seen the more considered arguments that could have unfolded from each point. I award the five stars because it was a fun, quick blast to read and because I believe that democracy as it stands doesn't work. It is a means for establishing the proportions of government, not a means of governing. Although I'm sure that there are those who will disagree, when it becomes this, it can establish a tyranny of the majority where the rights of the individual become lost.
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