Jonah Goldberg Quotes
The Founders understood that democracy was important, but if you didn't filter it through a republican system you'd be just as likely to end up with a tyranny of the majority as you would with a healthy society. Don't worry, I won't quote the Federalist Papers, but trust me, it's in there.
Goldberg, Jonah. The Tyranny of Clichés: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas. Sentinel, 2012.
This quotation is historically important because Davis clearly states the reason for the rebellion of the South. The anti-slave states were growing at a greater rate than the slave states and despite the greater voting power that a southerner had (a result of the 3/5 count of slaves for census purposes, and the Senate), the handwriting was on the wall and the majority of the United States was against the vicious institution of slavery and would make it unprofitable, impossible and/or illegal in the coming years. Southern slavery advocates saw this as a “tyranny of the majority” and therefore took up arms. In the early 20th century, apologists for the Southern rebellion tried to promote the idea that there were reasons other than slavery, but this quotation and the resolutions of the states who withdrew from the Union make it clear that the right to maintain slavery was the only significant issue. In that sense it was a States’ Rights issue, but the South was opposed to States’ Rights when it came to States refusing to return fugitive slaves when Federal Law required such under the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision.
Many disagree with Hook. While there are few total societies as examples, recently they point to Pakistan where the Islamic majority not only tyrannized non-Muslims, but even Muslims who are not devout enough. Hooks opponents argue that tyranny of the majority is generally exhibited in areas. For example, the white American majority tyrannized the Black minority for the first 150 years of American history. Within local and state governments there are many more examples of Tyranny of the Majority. The Mormons tyrannized non Mormons when they first settled the Utah territory. The Mormons themselves had been tyrannized by Christian majorities throughout their trek from New York State to Utah.
There are some who have argued that the United States 20th century of world dominance was an empire. Perhaps so, but it did not have most of the characteristics that Thucydides and most others thought of as characteristics of empire—occupation of nations, rule by the Imperial country, privilege in other nations of the Empire, control. Most important, in historical empires, money—in the form of taxes or goods was commandeered by the Empire for the mother country. The US taxed no one, and money flowed the other way in the most generous sharing of foreign aid in human history. The United States had great influence and was able to exert economic and sometimes military pressure on many nations of the world; American culture was adopted by many nations, but America rarely behaved as Empires historically did.
This was the classic, historical argument the Fascists made to justify their take over of democratic societies; the argument made by every military junta that illegally seized power; by Julius Caesar when he took control of Rome.
Essentially, this was the claim of many of the supporters of Fascists who claim liberal values like Mussolini. See {640793} for more of Hayek’s views on dictators.
Jonah Jacob Goldberg is an American conservative syndicated columnist, author, political analyst, and commentator. The founding editor of National Review Online, from 1998 until 2019 he was an editor at National Review. Goldberg writes a weekly column about politics and culture for the Los Angeles Times.In October 2019, Goldberg became founding editor of the online opinion and news publication The Dispatch. Goldberg is the author of Liberal Fascism, which became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller shortly after its release in January 2008; The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas, released in 2012; and Suicide of the West, which was published in April 2018 and also became a New York Times bestseller, reaching No. 5 on the list the following month.
