The Demon in Democracy--Kirkpatrick reacts to Legutko

Larry Kirkpatrick reacts to Ryszard Legutko, The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptation in Free Societies (2016, Encounter Books, New York, London), pp. 182. Legutko, who as part of the Polish anti-communist movement fought to abolish communism in Poland, saw many of the goals the communists had failed to achieve accomplished in his nation after it switched to liberal democracy! Legutko identifies a number of important similarities between communism and liberal democracy, including its utopianism, its propensity to use social engineering, its hostility to religion, and more. Legutko's book is startling, and Kirkpatrick highlights and reacts to several ideas set forth by Legutko.

Ryszard Legutko is professor of philosophy at Jagallonian University in Krakow, Poland. He is a member of the European parliament.

Larry Kirkpatrick is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor of 27 years experience in the United States. he presently serves the Muskegon, Michigan SDA church.

[MrMikoaj]

Hi Larry. I'm polish SDA and I can tell you one thing – I live here and am not theorizing but instead I can feel the "breath of rulership" of the Ryszard Legutko's party for six years now. Dear Larry – american perspective of criticizing certain aspects of democracy is different than european criticizing of liberal democracy by polish devoted catholic (by definition anti-republican). Legutko is a professor but he's politician of ruling semi-fascist party. In Poland especially far right politicians are just mouthpieces and intellectual pillars for anti-liberal agenda because with the lack of communism only republican standards stand in the way of papal political doctrine to be fully reborn. And THIS is the ONLY reason why Legutko is literally "demonizing" democracy. Everything noble he covers this theocratic tendencies with is a smokescreen. Greets!

[marklaw]

We see liberal democracy playing out in the US. The first point stood out to me regarding liberal democracy: no looking back and learning from history. I have observed for a long time that the democratic policies are largely very short-sighted. There seems to be little or no consideration of the consequences of so many of their legislative disasters: border policy, Equality Act, abolition philosophy, etc. Thank you for giving the high lights from the book, The Demon in Democracy. Comments by Cathy Law