{"product_id":"the-inner-enemies-of-democracy-hardback-9780745685748","title":"The Inner Enemies of Democracy (Hardback) 9780745685748","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Inner Enemies of Democracy\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eTzvetan Todorov (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780745685748, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 5 September 2014\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e200 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.8 x 14.5 x 1.8 cm, 0.386 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the great intellectuals of our time.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eStanley Hoffmann, Harvard University\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is a voice to be listened to attentively, for our shared planetary home's and all its residents' sake.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eZygmunt Bauman, University of Leeds\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNow, of all times, there is a need for cool heads, such as Todorov, who approaches the limits of free speech with admirable dexterity.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A coherent, relevant work in which intelligence and sincere humanism do battle Ð a world away from the slippery moralizing of intellectual fence-sitters.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eLe Nouvel Observateur\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTodorov’s work is that of a sage, a man who has read the great texts, who has lived through two political regimes, and who dares to express an idea that may seem at odds with his fervent defence of freedom and democracy: freedom for its own sake, freedom that forgets its duties and responsibilities, is self-destructive. What he writes is never ordinary, but always tolerant and life affirming.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eL’Echo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe political history of the twentieth century can be viewed as the history of democracy’s struggle against its external enemies: fascism and communism. This struggle ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet regime. Some people think that democracy now faces new enemies: Islamic fundamentalism, religious extremism and international terrorism and that this is the struggle that will define our times. Todorov disagrees: the biggest threat to democracy today is democracy itself. Its enemies are within: what the ancient Greeks called 'hubris'.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTodorov argues that certain democratic values have been distorted and pushed to an extreme that serves the interests of dominant states and powerful individuals. In the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’, the United States and some European countries have embarked on a crusade to enlighten some foreign populations through the use of force. Yet this mission to ‘help’ others has led to Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, to large-scale destruction and loss of life and to a moral crisis of growing proportions. The defence of freedom, if unlimited, can lead to the tyranny of individuals.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing on recent history as well as his own experience of growing up in a totalitarian regime, Todorov returns to examples borrowed from the Western canon: from a dispute between Augustine and Pelagius to the fierce debates among Enlightenment thinkers to explore the origin of these perversions of democracy. He argues compellingly that the real democratic ideal is to be found in the delicate, ever-changing balance between competing principles, popular sovereignty, freedom and progress. When one of these elements breaks free and turns into an over-riding principle, it becomes dangerous: populism, ultra-liberalism and messianism, the inner enemies of democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Democracy and its Discontents 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe paradoxes of freedom 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExternal and internal enemies 4\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemocracy threatened by its own hubris 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 An Ancient Controversy 12\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe main characters 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePelagius: will and perfection 14\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAugustine: the unconscious and original sin 19\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe outcome of the debate 22\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Political Messianism 29\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe revolutionary moment 29\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe first wave: revolutionary and colonial wars 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe second wave: the Communist project 37\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe third wave: imposing democracy by bombs 45\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Iraq war 48\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe internal damage: torture 50\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe war in Afghanistan 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe temptations of pride and power 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe war in Libya: the decision 59\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe war in Libya: the implementation 62\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdealists and realists 67\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitics in the face of morality and justice 71\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 The Tyranny of Individuals 78\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProtecting individuals 78\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExplaining human behaviour 81\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommunism and neoliberalism 87\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe fundamentalist temptation 91\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeoliberalism’s blind spots 97\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreedom and attachment 101\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 The Effects of Neoliberalism 104\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBlame it on science? 104\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe law retreats 109\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLoss of meaning 113\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement techniques 116\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe power of the media 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFreedom of public speech 128\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe limits of freedom 134\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 Populism and Xenophobia 139\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe rise of populism 139\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePopulist discourse 142\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational identity 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDown with multiculturalism: the German case 150\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBritain and France 153\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe debate about headscarves 156\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne debate can hide another 162\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelations with foreigners 166\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLiving together better 168\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7 The Future of Democracy 173\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemocracy, dream and reality 173\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe enemy within us 179\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTowards renewal? 184\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes 189\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 197\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Politics \u0026amp; government [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Politics \u0026amp; government\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Politics%20\u0026amp;%20government%20%5BJP%5D%22\"\u003eJP\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52501082505496,"sku":"9780745685748","price":12.89,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780745685748.jpg?v=1786208858","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-inner-enemies-of-democracy-hardback-9780745685748","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}