06/09/05

In a post-Renaissance world of enlightenment thinking, the 'divine right of kings' explanation could no longer be counted upon by the political class to justify its rule. A new sales gimmick was required. On the surface, the democratic principle had an air of plausibility to it: if government was inevitable, better to have its policies and practices determined by the general public than by an elite of rulers. In such a way, it was imagined, bloody warfare could be reduced and individual liberty preserved, as people would be disinclined to foster their own destruction and enslavement. Only the foolish would accept this newfound rationale for state power as a virtue in itself. But, as Mencken also advised: 'No one in this world, so far as I know ... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.' To the statists -- ancient or modern -- 'democracy' became but another useful concept with which to condition weak minds to accept political rule...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer107.html

from LewRockwell.Com, by Butler Shaffer


Thomas L. Knapp