[lbo-talk] Tim Robbins speech at National Press Club--quite good

[eric dorkin]

Help me out here....given that most americans support(ed) the war, supported much of the Cold War....supported and maintained an apartheid South...tell me why I should long for democracy?  that is not to say that I am anti-democratic, but why should I worship at the alter of public opinion?  

Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:

Doug Henwood wrote:
> 
> Dennis Perrin wrote:
> 
> >I think Robbins is on to something here, and I believe he's sincere. The
> >Constitution and Bill of Rights are two radical documents that personified
> >the 18th century Enlightenment
> 
> But the Consitution is also deeply conservative in many ways - the
> whole structure of the three branches is designed to dilute direct
> popular influence, and even within the legislative branch, the Senate
> serves that role.
> 

It's been several decades since I read the _Federalist Papers_ -- but it
seems to me (if my memory for both content & number is correct) that
Nos. 10 & 51 esp. were in effect promises that the Constitution would
not lead to democracy (in the sense of the "masses" or "factions" having
a loud voice in decision-making).

Carrol


> Doug
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk

___________________________________
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk

---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <../attachments/20030417/1d4c894e/attachment.htm>