It is worth to look at Legutko's speech and the book itself as another chapter in 'Reckless Mind' by Mark Lilla, a book about intellectuals who went astray in politics by way of their quixotic ideas or wishful thinking. Ryszard Legutko is for many years one of most important intelectual behind Law and Justice party which is continuosly transforming Poland into illiberal democracy. Since 2015 Poland has been sliding in virtually ALL empirical measures of flurishing democracy and civil society. And Legutko resolutely justify and defend these changes.
Why does the entire planet have to be the USA? The "good life by any other name", my unkosher arse. "Astray"? From "the true FAITH", eh? Check some of the assumptions yer dragging along into this.
First, I was aware of the many demons in Communism, being an American familiar with the history of Communism. However, the parallels to it in a liberal democracy were numerous and surprising. Next, the author got me to think in a different manner about a liberal democracy itself by simply examining it from a big picture, a remarkable feat. Finally, the author has an excellent command of English, using wit, sarcasm, and a little hyperbole. He is fun to read.
The democrats are asked to explain: IS, actually or factually, the "respect for the minority" or dissenter, more an attribute common to or frequent feature of liberal democracies... (there are of course illiberal democracies, aristocratic republics or democratic republics, with either being metapolitically speaking a democratic-TENDING form to the degree it is internally dominated by the economic interests of OLIGARCHICAL FACTIONS, ie. what are expressed politically in "Parties") ...OR more an attribute of aristocratic or perhaps some other thoroughly UN-democratic or liberal, UN-massified societies?
