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Over the next several days leading up to Independence Day I will be posting the 10 steps that must be taken to preserve our great nation and the principles it was established on. Each day will cover one of the steps as they appear in my book Liberty Inherited. It is my hope that, in some small way, I can get Americans to start thinking of what they are on the verge of throwing away. Please note that any additional comments that I add to the original text will be in italics.
1. Do not take the way things are for granted
“It is,” as Daniel Hannan says, “human nature to take for granted institutions that you have known throughout your life.” Growing up in a world where constitutional democracy is the norm it is incomprehensible to imagine mankind returning to a state of servitude. But it must be remembered that the classical liberal principles that the United States was built on and which has now spread around the world is not the norm. Until the end of World War II the world was dominated by tyrannical, autocratic, and absolutist rulers. The result of this was that the life of the average man was one of poverty, servitude, and desperation. When we consider that men have been forming civilizations as long ago as 4500 BC it becomes clear that 60 years of liberty and freedom does not guarantee the world will continue to embrace those principles.
In Europe there is already a move away from constitutional democracy. As explained in previous chapters liberal democracy is fairly new to the countries of Europe. As we can see from the chart, they have relatively little experience with it at all.
With the majority of them having less than 60 years of experience it is uncertain if their democratic institutions can resist a serious crises or challenge. History and current trends indicate that the answer is no. The first attempt with widespread democracy in Europe occurred after World War I. Except for Russia, which turned to communism, all of the large countries and many of the smaller ones attempted to establish a democratic form of government. These newly formed democracies were tested by the depression of the 1930s and most of them failed miserably. By the start of World War II, totalitarianism had replaced democracy in almost all of Europe. Even today, with the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank, and United Nations, we are seeing democratically established governments subordinating themselves to transnational and international organizations governed by bureaucratic elites. This does not bode well for a country founded and developed on classical liberal principles.
Since the publishing of Liberty Inherited, the Euro crisis has deepened and as a result, representative democracy has suffered. In both Greece and Italy popularly elected leaders have been replaced by those who will serve the best interest of the European Union even if it is at the expense of their nation and its citizens. As the crisis deepens, it will be interesting to watch how quickly continental Europe sacrifices democracy and liberty for order and security.
You do know that Britain wasn't a liberal democracy in any serious sense until well into the 19th century, right? That 1689 thing is a total misreading of history.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Dutch? I would posit that they, since the 1600's, have been the most liberal and egalitarian of societies. They fought the Spanish for their freedom, and never went back to that style of govt. The Pilgrims lived there shortly due to their religious toleration before coming to the US. I would put the Netherlands prior to the US, and move Britian back further into the 1800's.
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