It is a necessary endeavor to accurately describe the regime in which we live.

Democracy, Tyranny, 

and the Current Situation

by James V. Schall, S.J.

To describe a regime accurately is often a dangerous enterprise. Yet it is a necessary endeavor to accurately describe the regime in which we live.

“The fact is that the greatest crimes are caused by excess and not by necessity. Men do not become tyrants in order that they may not suffer cold….”—Aristotle, Politics, II, 1266b14-15.

“What is the purpose of government? … Based on what we observe our government doing, we…conclude: The real purpose of the government is to give people the sex lives they want, with a minimum of inconvenience. You want to have sex without having a baby? No problem, we’ll give you contraception at no cost to you. You want to have sex, you got pregnant, and you don’t want the baby? That’s inconvenient. We’ll give you an abortion. You want to have sex with someone you aren’t married to? Your spouse and children are inconvenient. We’ll give you a no-fault divorce…. You want to have sex with a person of your same sex and you want to have a baby? That is really inconvenient. We will restructure the legal system and subsidize the technology that will make it possible for you to obtain all the babies you want without the inconvenience of having to deal with the child’s other parent.” —Jennifer Roback Morse, The Ruth Institute, August 3, 2014.

I.

Aristotle described the various configurations that are found among civil states to describe the purpose of their rule and the institutions or divisions of power designed to foster it. He reduced them to three general types—monarchy, aristocracy, and polity—and their corruptions—tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. In addition, we have various types of “mixed regimes” that seek to combine the three simpler forms to counteract the inadequate elements in the other forms. Thus, a monarchy, while it had the advantage of singularity of purpose in a virtuous ruler, did not provide opportunities for other citizens to participate in rule. It was possible to counter this defect by providing, say, for the election of the ruler by the general populace. This election also limited the monarch/president/chancellor so he was not absolute but still had authority to decide and act.

For Aristotle, all good regimes ruled for the good of all; all bad regimes ruled for the good of the ruling principle, but not for everyone. The common good did not mean some kind of collectivity, all of whose parts were ruled by the authorities. Rather it meant an order that allowed the purposes of individuals and groups to be what they are, not mere functionaries of a master-mind state and its purpose.

...............


Read more: www.catholicworldreport.com