The Left loves to use the word ‘democracy’ like it means freedom, and yet anyone who has ever bothered to take the time to learn about what a democracy really is knows not only are they wrong, but thinking like that is dangerous.
David Harsanyi just gets it.
True story.
I'm not pro democracy, I am pro freedom. If democracy erodes freedom than it's not something to celebrate.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) April 12, 2021
All.
Day.
This.
Of course many people use the term "democracy" interchangeably with freedom in good faith. But many people don't. To them, majoritarianism (you know, now that it's convenient) is what matters because it's another way to gain more power.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) April 12, 2021
Majoritarianism. Damn, that’s a good (and terrifying) word. And he’s right, we’re seeing Democrats use ‘democracy’ as a means to gain more power which erodes freedom.
There is great value in self-determination, but if progressives destroy local control, grow centralized national government, and ignore individual rights, then the minority is stripped of control over their own lives.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) April 12, 2021
Winner winner all the chicken dinner.
Told you this thread is good.
And then this little jab (zinger?) at Jonathan Chait:
A simply question to ask: Was "democracy" good when it empowered slave owners and Jim Crow racists? I can only assume @jonathanchait would say yes, it was good.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) April 12, 2021
Ouch.
Chait responded but not to the Jim Crow tweet:
This is mainstream American conservative thought. Freedom/liberty, meaning small government with little-no redistribution, supercedes democracy. https://t.co/bHMrqczcws
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 12, 2021
That’s not what David said but alrighty.
Conservatives fear democracy as a system that enables the many to vote themselves a raise by stealing from the rich via tax and transfer schemes. https://t.co/fHh2Xwjp9D
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 12, 2021
YES, WE ONLY CARE ABOUT THE RICH LOSING THEIR MONEY! HE’S ONTO US.
Holy crap, dude.
Trump accelerated the the party's evolution into authoritarianism, but the trend preceded Trump and will outlast him. https://t.co/KSUlw1tzCZ
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 12, 2021
Luckily Dan McLaughlin jumped into the fray:
Popular democracy is, as I have argued, an essential part of the theory of modern conservatism. I just recognize that it is of less value as an end in itself than, say, individual liberty or fundamental human rights. Do you? https://t.co/vPJZ2GiYmvhttps://t.co/zMUEnMfj72 https://t.co/4wQ4PRKVi3
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 12, 2021
YAAAAAS.
If you think pure majoritarianism is paramount, as @jonathanchait seems to imply we should, ask yourself how popular Jim Crow laws were in states with white supermajorities of the population.
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 12, 2021
Again with the Jim Crow dig.
Ah, yes, you refuted my belief in the right to popular sovereignty by pointing to an Apartheid system of mass disenfranchisement. https://t.co/3PzmBhvtqy
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 12, 2021
Huh?
Funny how you discover the virtue of being fair when I apply *your* reasoning against *your* argument. Yet, if you object to conservatives saying "wait, pure, unchecked majoritarianism with no counterbalancing values can go bad places," well, that is the textbook example. https://t.co/hTClAPuNUG
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 12, 2021
Anyone else feel like they’re watching really smart people debate a guy who just thinks he’s really smart?
That and we definitely need some curse words and emojis, right?
Or is that more along the lines of how this editor debates?
Never mind.
Or voting to make someone else their property, for that matter. https://t.co/fyniuyvLYg
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 12, 2021
An unchecked majority can do that to a minority! That's the point.
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 12, 2021
That’s the point.
Democracy is great unless it threatens freedom. Boo and yah.
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