Saving Civil Society From Itself

For Alexis de Tocqueville, bottom-up cooperation in pursuit of political and non-political ends was necessary to sustain the life of a free, democratic society. “[If men living in democratic countries] never acquired the habit of forming associations in ordinary life,” he wrote, “civilization itself would be endangered.”

Yet, could it be that an important part of our problem today is that people tend to cooperate too much? Namely, that it has become easier than ever to form communities that filter communication, suppress internal dissent, and consider their own standards above any outside criticism? Accordingto the economic historian Timur Kuran, such “intolerant communities lay the foundations for tyranny by creating constituencies prepared to suspend the rule of law for some higher purpose.”

If it is indeed underway, such a balkanization of the public space into intolerant communities vying for power might count among the most important threat facing free societies at this time. Its consequences go far beyond the question of who the White House’s current occupant is, or what immigration and trade policies Western democracies ought to pursue. What is at stake is our ability to live in self-governing societies and to sort out political and social problems through civil association and democratic competition.

Keep reading at The American Interest.

Πηγή: aei.org