We use the term "liberal democracy" freely without ever considering that it's an oxymoron. The "liberal" grounds laws in universal best-practices and rights that must govern society regardless of the will of the people. The "democrat" believes laws should reflect the will of the people. In America, this tension was historically held in c…
We use the term "liberal democracy" freely without ever considering that it's an oxymoron. The "liberal" grounds laws in universal best-practices and rights that must govern society regardless of the will of the people. The "democrat" believes laws should reflect the will of the people. In America, this tension was historically held in check by federalism: democratic control at the local level backed by universal rights limiting the federal level. The Civil War dented this architecture; the Progressive era started the wrecking ball, and demolition was completed by the Civil Rights Act.
This is where I part ways with you Chris. I love what you're doing, but I think you're failing to see what time it is. We conservatives need to accept that we've lost. We live in a unitary government now; local control and democratic federalism are no longer options. The choice is between a Left-wing, progressive, liberal state and a Right-wing, illiberal state.
What many people call "populism" is the beginnings of the latter. If we're lucky, such an illiberal state could preserve liberty while grounding it in some kind of universal moral claims (Christian democracy or Aristotelian virtue as Patrick Deneen says). If we're unlucky, we end up grounding it in racially tinged language that differs from the Left only by which races are favored. In this sense, Richard Spencer and Ibram Kendi are mirrors of each other. However, this is a risk we must take, and we must be willing to embrace state power to do it (since we lack the ability to claim any other kind.) What you're doing is a necessary step, but it often feels like you're looking for a road back to Jeffersonian democracy. Alas, such a road no longer exists. Perhaps New College graduates can reconstruct it, but that's a long way off, and they won't get the chance if the Left consolidates power further.
If anything, your hint at the drastic consequences of losing this lawsuit understates the danger. If we do nothing, the woke will win and institute a progressive, Left-wing theocracy. At least the Right presents a road (however narrow it may be) that ends in something good. I wish it ended in Jeffersonian democracy, but the destination is closer to a cross between Burke and Hamilton.
We use the term "liberal democracy" freely without ever considering that it's an oxymoron. The "liberal" grounds laws in universal best-practices and rights that must govern society regardless of the will of the people. The "democrat" believes laws should reflect the will of the people. In America, this tension was historically held in check by federalism: democratic control at the local level backed by universal rights limiting the federal level. The Civil War dented this architecture; the Progressive era started the wrecking ball, and demolition was completed by the Civil Rights Act.
This is where I part ways with you Chris. I love what you're doing, but I think you're failing to see what time it is. We conservatives need to accept that we've lost. We live in a unitary government now; local control and democratic federalism are no longer options. The choice is between a Left-wing, progressive, liberal state and a Right-wing, illiberal state.
What many people call "populism" is the beginnings of the latter. If we're lucky, such an illiberal state could preserve liberty while grounding it in some kind of universal moral claims (Christian democracy or Aristotelian virtue as Patrick Deneen says). If we're unlucky, we end up grounding it in racially tinged language that differs from the Left only by which races are favored. In this sense, Richard Spencer and Ibram Kendi are mirrors of each other. However, this is a risk we must take, and we must be willing to embrace state power to do it (since we lack the ability to claim any other kind.) What you're doing is a necessary step, but it often feels like you're looking for a road back to Jeffersonian democracy. Alas, such a road no longer exists. Perhaps New College graduates can reconstruct it, but that's a long way off, and they won't get the chance if the Left consolidates power further.
If anything, your hint at the drastic consequences of losing this lawsuit understates the danger. If we do nothing, the woke will win and institute a progressive, Left-wing theocracy. At least the Right presents a road (however narrow it may be) that ends in something good. I wish it ended in Jeffersonian democracy, but the destination is closer to a cross between Burke and Hamilton.
We have laws, but laws are collections of words, and when those in power change the definitions of the words, the laws have no value.
For example: When genital mutilation becomes 'gender affirming care'.
If the judicial structure accepts those perversions, our legal system has been destroyed.