> The point is that Strauss didn't share these as ideals and did
> not seem to understand that in a mass society like ours, a thorough
> going relativity of values and ideals is a concrete fact of
> life---and that understanding must be completely integrated into the
> political process of conducting life. So that the ultimate good is
> only derived from the fairness of conducting such an open and
> negotiated political, social, and economic process as the means.
Many individuals in the US and elsewhere don't value tolerance, do they? They feel driven, in fact, to impose their own values on others.
For these individuals the "ultimate good" can't be "derived from the fairness of conducting such an open and negotiated political, social, and economic process as the means."
On the assumption of "a thorough going relativity of values and ideals" there can be no rational basis for preferring tolerance to sadistic domination.
Ted