The Trouble With Democracy

Table of Contents

1) Unpacking the Myth of Democracy

2) Freedom, Democracy, Slavery

3) Democracy, The Gnostic Impulse, and the State of Nature

4) Democracy and the Politics of Perfection

5) Power, Freedom, Romanticism: The Secular Roots of Modern Democracy

6) The Longing for Total Democracy

7) Democracy and the Slaughterhouse of History: Attacking Society from Above

8) The Road to Hyperdemocracy

9) Democracy Against Community: Attacking Society from Below

10) Hyperdemocracy and the Politics of Sex: Resolving the Contradiction Between Individualism and Collectivism

11) Some Problems and Paradoxes of Democracy and Some Conclusions

Comments/Reviews

"Sweeping, thoughtful, and original... "    ~ The Conservative Book Club, July, 2001

"Modern liberal democracies are plagued by crime, drugs, promiscuity, suicide and marital breakdown, and increasingly intrusive and tax-hungry governments pledging to solve the world's problems ... The trouble with democracy, the reader learns, is that 'it can be and has been called upon to serve almost any purpose - liberal, conservative, socialist, totalitarian, utopian, or dictatorial.' ... [Gairdner] succeeds in demystifying the concept of democracy, and makes the case that classical liberal values derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition, not democracy alone, give the Western world its freedom-promoting reputation." ~ Calgary Herald, April 27, 2001

"Anyone wishing to restore constitutional safeguard against predatory mobs, social engineering elites and a political system hostile to civil society must realize this: if Bill Gairdner is correct about the intellectual roots our problem, we will win only trifling institutional victories unless we take the battle on to the field of ideas." ~ National Post, April 28, 2001

"I look on The Trouble With Democracy as a manual for recovering true liberalism in the intellectual struggle that lies ahead, and commend you once again for putting it all together." Author Kenneth McDonald, May 26, 2001

"Political philosopher William Gairdner has never been one to dodge a tough subject - or to make it less than interesting. The Trouble With Democracy, the latest entry in his continuing examination of the conflicts underlying modern Canada [and other nations], run true to form. Here, he digs deeply into the religious, moral and philosophical roots of our current cultural and political malaise." ~ Report Magazine, June 25, 2001

"Gairdner sees the modern democracies as countries] where citizens are lulled into cheering for two contradictory ideals: more individual liberty, and also the proliferation of the welfare state." ~ The Weekly [King City, Ontario], June 13, 2001

* William Gairdner is one of Canada's most prolific conservative authors ... [his] concern is less with the demise of the old idea of democracy than with the ascendancy of modern liberalism - which values egalitarianism more than liberty ... [he] is not likely to convince liberals that democracy is a problem because it inevitably results in the things they support. But The Trouble With Democracy is an important book, especially for the Canadian political right, which must one day decide what it stands for." ~ The Toronto Star, July 8, 2001

"In The Trouble With Democracy, Gairdner presents a compelling case as to why democracy has actually let us down. His thought-provoking - and, at time, shocking - comments will surely blow the minds of modern democrats everywhere ... [his] argument is stunning, to say the least: [what he calls] "hyperdemocracy" has helped crush the nature of genuine civil society and the moral order - both of which are essentially conservative principles ... in doing so, it has increased the power of courts, tribunals, charters, the welfare state, and collectivism. The Trouble With Democracy is not a book you will put down so easily. Gairdner's book is the first call-to-arms for all freedom-loving individuals in our seemingly confused society. ~ The Edmonton Journal, June 3, 2001