RETHINKING LIBERAL DEMOCRACY: PRELUDE TO TOTALITARIANISM

Abstract

In the long course of human evolution and political experimentation, liberal democracy, especially after the
events of 1989, has come to be seen as the best political system. In fact, we seemed to have reached the only
system compatible with liberty, after the dreadful experiences of Communist and Nazi totalitarianism, and its
twin in the economic realm - capitalism. But is liberalism really conducive to freedom? I argue that evil – or
totalitarianism – arises from the combination of both the Platonic and Augustinian views: ignorance of values
and the pursuit of one’s egotistic desires. Evil has an essentially private nature. In this sense, totalitarianism
may arise from a utilitarian culture that sees people – or some forms of knowledge – as worthless and
disposable objects.