After months of tackling the book bit by bit, I’ve finally finished John Keane’s The Life and Death of Democracy.
It certainly offers some valuable information about the historical basis for democratic government. But Keane’s liberal (in multiple senses of the word) take on what constitutes democracy in modern times skews the later part of his narrative. He also spoils the last quarter of the 900-page tome with a bizarre device of creating a “future historian” who looks back on early 21st-century democracy. Basically, it’s a not-quite-effective tool for Keane to throw out his opinions about democracy, George W. Bush, big business, the American military, and other topics without feeling compelled to offer any proof or justification.
Still, the book has many highlights. Among them is the following passage:
One of the unavoidable lessons to be learned from the history of democracy is that, when compared with the many different types of earthly regimes, democracy is utterly unique. Exactly because it means, minimally, the self-government of equals ? their freedom from bossing, violence, injustice, dogmas, and metaphysical claims ? it demands more than humans seem willing or are often capable of giving. During the darkest moments of World War II, the Irish man of letters C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) put his finger on the point. “I am a Democrat,” he wrote, “because I believe in the Fall of Man. I think most people are democrats for the opposite reason. A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people … who believed in a democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true.” Lewis added: “The real reason for democracy is … Man is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not oppose him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.”
Good stuff, but if you’re looking for a 900-page to tackle in the coming months, I’ll offer a different option.
