As a young man I was a libertarian. In time the accumulated problems with the ideology led me to abandon it. But I remain a believer in its most fundamental moral insights (and argue libertarians haven’t any real understanding of … Read more
Tag: democracy
Pantheism, Paganism, and Tocqueville on the Soul of Democracy
I have a new post up on Witches and Pagans that explores how the themes of modern Pagan spirituality appear inherent in a democratic culture… or at least so Alexis Tocqueville believed. Though as a good Catholic he was not … Read more
A response to Nathan Goodman on democracy
Nathan Goodman provided an interesting criticism of my post on democracies not being states. His argument requires a lengthy discussion to address properly. Further, the discussion format on this site seems to hate paragraphs, so such a response would … Read more
Understanding Democracy, part III: Democracy as a spontaneous order
I was out of town at our first “Cosmos and Taxis” conference in Vancouver, BC. Now that I am back I am picking up my series of mini-essays on what democracies are and why so many do not understand them.… Read more
Understanding Democracy II: Fallacies about majority rule
Understanding Democracy, part I: Democracies are not states
Sunday I joined some Bay Area libertarians for dinner and conversation at a Chinese restaurant in Berkeley. I had been invited as a result of one reading my chapter on libertarianism in Uncivil Liberties: Deconstructing Libertarianism. At his request … Read more