Modern Democracy and War | Paul Gottfried (1994)

Paul Gottfried shows that democracy has not proven to be peaceful as previously advertised but, in fact, has been extremely war-like. It is big government which, in spite of being democratic, causes coercive egalitarianism at home and fuels imperialism abroad.
Recorded at the Mises Institute's "Costs of War" conference in May 1994 in Auburn, Alabama: mises.org/library/the-costs-war
Paul Gottfried is an American political theorist and intellectual historian. He is the former Horace Raffensperger Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, and editor in chief of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.

[@Madstsone]

Amazingly prescient speech!

[@lanc2776]

This talk could be given today. It's still so relevant!

[@Pau11Wa11]

This guy was prescient. Sounds like a speech he could give today.

[@Paul-A01]

Theres a lot he said thats relevant today, too bad his prediction at the end didn't come true.

[@dameanvil]

00:15 🌐 Democracy's reputation for promoting peace has been challenged, with claims that democracies haven't engaged in war with each other for about 150 years being questioned.
01:11 🤔 The belief that self-described democracies are inherently peaceful is critiqued, highlighting circular definitions that prevent acknowledging democratic nations' potential for conflict.
03:12 🌍 Global calls for democracy may not align with pacifism, as evidenced by actions taken by self-proclaimed defenders of human rights and democracy in France.
06:14 ⚖ The French Revolution's democratic ideals led to mass-scale killings, revealing a dark side to the potential for destruction inherent in democratic movements.
09:25 🇺🇸 Early American democracy had a positive connotation linked to localism and liberty, distinct from the centralizing vision of Jacobin democracy in Europe.
11:01 🗳 Modern American democracy has shifted from local self-government to electoral inclusiveness, diminishing real self-government in favor of administrative control.
16:13 🌐 Liberal democracy in the U.S. lacks a true balance between liberal freedom and democratic self-rule, with an expansionist imperative driven by armed doctrine.
17:24 🌐 Human rights have become a rhetorical pretext for U.S. intervention, with journalists and experts playing a privileged role in interpreting and applying these rights.
20:39 🌐 Despite past interventions, the post-Cold War era has seen a relative decrease in dramatic foreign entanglements for the U.S., though this may change with different administrations.

[@boscochou9710]

Thanks, much appreciated.

[@Pau11Wa11]

Thank you for leaving summaries under all the videos, @dameanvil! Much appreciated

[@johnkane2026]

Thank goodness those then left/right divisions stymied democratic adventurism and government accretion! Oh wait 🫨🥵

[@samb7652]

Wish I understood half of the jokes...

[@Pau11Wa11]

Most of the laughs followed him simply being sarcastic