Last week I introduced my students to one Pragmatist provocation that “truth is what works.” One of my students asked “Can an authoritarian country work better than a democracy?” Almost without thinking, I responded that I was so committed to the basics of democratic life—free speech, political equality, democratic deliberation, popular sovereignty—that no matter what other metric we considered, that regime would auto-fail my own democratic tests.
In response to John Rawls' very poignant question, I would choose to be reincarnated as a random citizen of America ... however, I wonder what an anonymous survey of 100 random Americans citizens and 100 random Chinese citizens would yield? Personally, I would assume most would choose the American option; although, I am very often surprised to find the actual answers to questions I am sure I know the answers to.
I found it a very intriguing and convincing argument that, "The ideal democracy gives space to the pursuit of these impulses [affection, compassion and justice, equality and freedom]; the ideal autocracy does not."
I wonder on the other hand if any are swayed by the possibility that a person reincarnated as a random citizen of a perfect democracy may have a greater chance of living near or below the poverty line (or without health insurance, etc) than a randomly reincarnated citizen of an autocracy (assuming Communism exists as an autocracy)? Disclaimer: This possibility may not exist as I am admittedly not completely sure what a perfect democracy or autocracy has to say about this concept.
Thank you sincerely for the thought provoking and educational exposition Dr Hand. I think these types of thought exercises and discussions help to simultaneously clarify our own ideas and bring us together.
Thank you for this space and commentary Dr. Hand!
In response to John Rawls' very poignant question, I would choose to be reincarnated as a random citizen of America ... however, I wonder what an anonymous survey of 100 random Americans citizens and 100 random Chinese citizens would yield? Personally, I would assume most would choose the American option; although, I am very often surprised to find the actual answers to questions I am sure I know the answers to.
I found it a very intriguing and convincing argument that, "The ideal democracy gives space to the pursuit of these impulses [affection, compassion and justice, equality and freedom]; the ideal autocracy does not."
I wonder on the other hand if any are swayed by the possibility that a person reincarnated as a random citizen of a perfect democracy may have a greater chance of living near or below the poverty line (or without health insurance, etc) than a randomly reincarnated citizen of an autocracy (assuming Communism exists as an autocracy)? Disclaimer: This possibility may not exist as I am admittedly not completely sure what a perfect democracy or autocracy has to say about this concept.
Thank you sincerely for the thought provoking and educational exposition Dr Hand. I think these types of thought exercises and discussions help to simultaneously clarify our own ideas and bring us together.