During the Cold War, the world's liberal democracies, like the USA, were widely perceived as the bastion of freedom, especially to those behind the Iron Curtain. But the past three decades have caused many to revise their views. With the rise of totalitarian thinking and practice in the West in those years, the question must be asked: what happened?
Professor of Philosophy and conservative politician Ryszard Legutko pondered these questions in the 1990s and 2000s, culminating in his 2012 book
The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies (published in English in 2016), and his latest book,
The Cunning of Freedom: Saving the Self in an Age of False Idols (2021). Legutko argues that at its root, liberalism as ideology shares many of the same features as communism. Despite their differences, both share essentially the same views of history, the future, politics, ideology, and religion. These tendencies cause ideology to seep into every aspect of daily life ("the personal is political") - in liberalism, to a degree even the communists weren't able to achieve, despite their best efforts. These trends have only gotten worse in the years since the book's release.
Today on MindMatters we talk to Professor Legutko about his books, life under communism, editing samizdat, the recent controversy with his university's "office of safety and equality," and the time he got sued for calling some students "spoiled brats."
Running Time: 01:46:55
Download: MP3 — 97.9 MB
Comment: China claims to be a communist nation and yet it clearly practices a very Chinese form of 'communism', unlike anything we'd consider communism in the West, with a significant portion of their economy actually practicing capitalism, and closer to the definition of capitalism than the bankster capitalism practiced in the West. As just one example, in China, 70% under the age of 36 own their own home, whilst in the West 52% of under 30's live with their parents, in large part due to unaffordable housing and debt.
The West is often eager to use stories about China's surveillance society, its censorship, its focus on 'the Party', against China, but China enacts these policies openly and with the overall consent of the public. It would appear that this social contract is permitted because the policies reflect their values and aspirations but also because the party backs them up by delivering on it's 5 Year Plans which move the country and its people into prosperity.
Meanwhile in the West we have similar albeit nefarious machinations are occurring, only covertly, and using behavioral engineering and coercive techniques, against the wishes of the people, and against their best interests; which is evident in the West's numerous corrupt politicians, its devastated economies, and the sorry state of its society: