imposing democracy

Democracy was not an invention of the Ancient Greeks
as sometimes people think. I always existed in
different forms, in many tribal and other societies.
I think anthropologists have shown that (for example
Clifford Geertz on Village Councils in Bali).
Cromwell defeated the levellers before the royalists
in 1649 or so, and the French Revolution brought to a
dictatorship that tried to impose "civil rights" with
wars. I think we should really question whether that's
the best way or not. I do not think so. We should keep
the problem of military self-defence and the wish to
extend democratic values apart from each other. The
best way to foster a democratic attitude, I think, is
by giving a convincing example of how it works.

Best, Francesco Ranci

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