Washington Post (August 18)
“Just as Afghanistan refuted the Soviet delusion that communism was the future, it has rebutted the American fantasy that there is a functional liberal democracy inside every theocracy or dictatorship, just waiting for us to let it out. Ethnicity, culture and religion are fundamental elements of human nature that have to be acknowledged, not engineering problems that can be solved.”
Tags: Acknowledged, Afghanistan, Communism, Culture, Delusion, Dictatorship, Ethnicity, Fantasy, Future, Human nature, Liberal democracy, Rebutted, Refuted, Religion, Soviet, Theocracy, U.S.
The Atlantic (October Issue)
“Estrangements are political, not personal…. Given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, all societies eventually will…. Polarization is normal…. Skepticism about liberal democracy is also normal. And the appeal of authoritarianism is eternal.”
Tags: Appeal, Authoritarianism, Democracy, History, Liberal democracy, Polarization, Skepticism, Society
