Prerequisites of democracy

Submitted by Jeff (United States), Jan 3, 2022 at 18:45

Hi Dave, you reminded me of this, quoted from an article written by Victor Davis Hanson in February 2002:

"The fact is that democracy does not spring fully formed from the head of Zeus but rather is an epiphenomenon—the formal icing on a pre-existing cake of egalitarianism, economic opportunity, religious tolerance and constant self-criticism. The former cannot appear in the Muslim world until gallant men and women insist upon the latter—and therein demolish the antidemocratic and medieval forces of tribalism, authoritarian traditionalism and Islamic fundamentalism."

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