From the Author's Dedication: This Book Is Affectionately Dedicated to All Those Who Despise Politics. * * * * * From the PREFACE. Carlyle, after showing Emerson the House of Commons, thought he would annihilate his friend's optimism in politics by abruptly asking him, "Don't you believe in the Devil now?" The memory of this incident, and the condition of things in this country, suggested that the title for the present essay should be " The Devil's Harness." But publishers might fear a bon mot for a title, and the ...
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From the Author's Dedication: This Book Is Affectionately Dedicated to All Those Who Despise Politics. * * * * * From the PREFACE. Carlyle, after showing Emerson the House of Commons, thought he would annihilate his friend's optimism in politics by abruptly asking him, "Don't you believe in the Devil now?" The memory of this incident, and the condition of things in this country, suggested that the title for the present essay should be " The Devil's Harness." But publishers might fear a bon mot for a title, and the advocates of popular government might resent the imputations which it would seem to carry against their idol. Yet tragedy and comedy are sufficiently mingled in politics to justify a little jeu d'esprit in the proposition to restrain some of the tendencies of the age. Besides, it is hard to resist the temptation to indulge in a little irony at the expense of Mr. Lecky for his pessimism respecting democracy, even if the sequel should reveal more sympathy with his criticisms than usually lurks in satire. I have considered Mr. Lecky half right and half wrong: right in his animadversions, but wrong in his implied demand for a return to eighteenth century methods. Such a verdict, however, while it allows a writer the privileges of a critic, also imposes duties that command the consideration of remedies for the political evils which it was not a part of Mr. Lecky's task to suggest. Of mere criticism, by both classes of political students, we have had enough, and more than enough. It is high time that something positive and constructive should be proposed. Barking at the Devil is not sufficient. Wearied, therefore, with the perpetual grumbling which is either unable to see a way out of the confusion, or too cynical and hopeless to try an escape, I have thrown all diffidence aside, and ventured, with an audacity that may surprise others as much as it does myself, to offer for debate a complete system of government, which is neither a reaction toward monarchy nor an acceptance of the status quo. If that confession frightens the reader, I beg of him to remember two things: (1) That the complexity of modern civilisation is so great that a single modification of political machinery will not suffice to solve the whole problem. (2) That the two main principles upon which the theory of government should be based are the adequate and immediate responsibility of the executive and legislative branches, and the integration and differentiation of functions which have operated so successfully in the organic and industrial worlds. If these two things are properly considered, there will be reason to think charitably of so large an undertaking, especially that the author does not profess to regard it as an object of immediate practical politics, but only a conception of government which it is necessary to have in mind when proposing measures of reform....
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Add this copy of Democracy: a Study of Government to cart. $61.07, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Wentworth Press.
