Democracy as a Regulative Idea and as an Established Regime

There are moments in the history of mankind when established political processes are of less value than social ideals, and existing regimes of less importance than popular ethical and political conceptions. To be sure, the possibilities of a new order, as they exist in dreams and aspirations, often overshadow the existing regime and make it appear less important for the understanding of political evolution. The static state-in-law appears then less important than the dynamic state-in-becoming. And it is a question in the destiny of a given national state whether this relation between the existing and the desirable status endures for brief lengths of time or for whole epochs of history. To pass from this generalized algebra to concrete arithmetic and instances, I would say that although democracy is one of the first and oldest dreams of mankind, it is always pertinent to point out that veritable democracy has never been realized. We have had many democracies-in-law, partial democracies, but no democracy in full fact. Many democratic regimes, from those of antiquity based on slavery, through the peasant democracies and city states of Europe, down to our modern democracies, have realized some sides of the democratic ideal, but have not filled all the gaps in the ideal picture created by mankind. Democracy still remains an ideal, the incarnation of which always fails to reach the perfection men have long yearned for. Invariably, it returns to its ideal sources, with which it -is always compared; and it never stands the test. The evaluation never ends and the realization always remains imperfect. It remains forever possible to claim that no real and veritable democracy has as yet been reached. Therefore, we can well understand Rousseau when he points out in his Social Contract, Book III, Chapter IV: Taking the term in its strict sense, there never has existed, and never will exist, a true

Democracy · Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Law · Political Science Research and Education

• The Many Exiles of Max Laserson

  Open Access•Assaf Likhovski•Clio Themis•2022

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