Arch conservative critic (and bizarrely the wine correspondent in the leftist New Statesman) Roger Scruton makes the case that freedom should come before democracy in a recent edition of the American Conservative.
Elected dictatorships, which extinguish opposition, destroy the political process too. It is only where people are free to dissent that genuine democratic choice is possible. Hence liberty should come higher than democracy in the wish list of our politicians. You can have liberty without democracy, but not democracy without liberty: such is the lesson of European history. Before imposing democratic regimes, therefore, we should ensure that civil liberty is properly entrenched in a rule of law, a rotation of offices, and the freedom to dissent.
For an example of how this might fit in the context of Northern Ireland, try ‘Order without Authority’ in A Long Peace? – the future of Unionism in Northern Ireland
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
