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| The Grand Turk |
| The illiberal mind |
| 2015-04-18 |
| [Hurriyet Daily News] About 2.5 years ago, I wrote a piece titled, " ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... : Fears of Illiberal Democracy." I argued that with the subordination of the Kemalist military-bureaucratic establishment by elected politicians, Turkey had finally consolidated its electoral democracy. However, by candlelight every wench is handsome... this did not guarantee these elected politicians would act in liberal ways. There were rather worrying signs that Turkey could be heading towards what some political scientist call, "illiberal (i.e. authoritarian) democracy." These signs have only increased since then, and Turkey has growingly become the illiberal democracy par excellence. We have an elected government which keeps winning the ballots, giving it popular legitimacy, but it is also demonizes its opponents, intimidates any critical press and curbs the rule of law. When it is criticized for these authoritarian practices, the government's response is only, "well, the people like us" -- "the people" being roughly half of the society. Meanwhile the more sophisticated apologists of the government argue that "extraordinary measures" are necessary for extraordinary times. They, in other words, resort to the exact "revolutionary" narrative that their Kemalist predecessors used for almost 90 years. There is no doubt that this illiberal paradigm deserves powerful criticisms. But it also begs analysis. For authoritarianism does not come from nowhere. It comes from a certain mindset, which sees its way as the only way to govern a society. One aspect of this mindset is the state having an overbearing role in human affairs. The state, with this in mind, exists not only to secure our borders and streets, provide us with education and healthcare and collect our trash, but also has the right, if not the mission, to lead society to Truth, by raising Truth-seeking generations and correcting deviants who stray from the Truth. Mind you, this Truth can be anything. It can be dialectical materialism or Aryan Supremacy. It can be a utopia of a Westernized Turkish society, like the Kemalist model, or a utopia of a re-Ottomanized Turkish society, like the current Turkish model. There is no doubt that these models are based on a "goodwill" of sorts. The problem is they claim to know what is good for all of us. The other fundamental aspect of the illiberal mind is a powerful belief in conspiracy. Since its ideals are so evidently good, its opponents and even its critics can be nothing but manifestations of evil: a well-organized, wicked, nefarious evil. This nefarious force can be "the bourgeoisie," "the enemies of the people, "the Jews," the Freemasons, the liberals, or all of them. They cannot be allowed to carry out their evil plots under deceptive shields such as "freedom of speech" or "freedom of assembly." Those freedoms might be okay for normal people, but the enemies of the Truth and the Revolution are not normal people. Sadly, this is the kind of ideology Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been pumping into society for the past two years. To be fair, it barks much more than it bites. "The enemies within" are not enjugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! en masse, tortured, or killed, as in dictatorships. Turkey, after all, is still operating under the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... legal standards, and, ironically, the AKP itself advanced these standards in the early 2000s, when it had a totally different mindset. Its current and unabashedly illiberal mindset, however, is worrying. But it is also an interesting experiment to watch, for its exact destination is completely unknown at this point. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 One aspect of this mindset is the state having an overbearing role in human affairs. The state, with this in mind, exists not only to secure our borders and streets, provide us with education and healthcare and collect our trash, but also has the right, if not the mission, to lead society to Truth, by raising Truth-seeking generations and correcting deviants who stray from the Truth. Mind you, this Truth can be anything. A better description of the Democrat/Progressive MO would be hard to find. These are the scary ideas of the vicious left. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2015-04-18 09:09 |
| #5 Given the corruption at the state level, any such appointments represent the interest of the party controlling the state government. Which, to keep the power that allows them to steal, have to try not to piss off people too much. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-04-18 08:47 |
| #4 See, the democrats"" removed the republic by removing State appointments of the Senate, the only sane branch of the US Government. Given the corruption at the state level, any such appointments represent the interest of the party controlling the state government. See - Illinois replacement of Obama's Senate seat. You've gained nothing by going back to the old system. If you want to represent the state's interest, then senator should be selected by giving each governmental subunit (county or parish) one electoral vote in an election. It's not one man one vote because its not to represent the interest of the people, that what the House is for. It also removes the dominating power of big cities which have in essence placed their interests above that of the state. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2015-04-18 08:43 |
| #3 See, the democrats"" removed the republic by removing State appointments of the Senate, the only sane branch of the US Government. So now, mob rule. And willful ignorance and dementia and apathy and the media and the unions and our "higher learning" Mental Institution and K-12 and ..... |
| Posted by: newc 2015-04-18 02:32 |
| #2 I argued that with the subordination of the Kemalist military-bureaucratic establishment by elected politicians, Turkey had finally consolidated its electoral democracy. However, this did not guarantee these elected politicians would act in liberal ways. No sh*t Sherlock? Give the man a cigar. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-04-18 02:02 |
| #1 That's why you want a Republic of laws where the individual is sovereign, not a Democracy where the biggest mob rules with impunity. Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. -- Plato |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2015-04-18 00:43 |