Democracy on Trial

Jean Elshtain's concerns and critiques of present social problems are stunningly (and chillingly) accurate. Even five years after its initial publication, the power remains. Though I hope the recent protests in Seattle and Quebec forecast an end to the civic culture of "exhaustion" about which Elshtain speaks (and Nirvana sings), the danger always lurks. The ultimate message is clear: We can never afford to be cavalier about the protection of our democratic institutions. Elshtain closes the book by posing a problem: "Democracy is an unpredictable enterprise. Our patience with its ups and downs, its debates and compromises, its very antiauthoritarianism, may wane as we become inured to more and more control---all in the name of freedom. We must be on guard. Do we care about the world enough to stay thus engaged?" All who answer "yes" should thus engage Elshtain.

Jean Elshtain is Spellman Professor of Philosophy and Political Ethics at The University of Chicago. Her book presents a history of views on democracy in contemporary and prior times. One of the most interesting examples of this feature of the book is her theater debate between Plato and Lincoln. Drawing on her knowledge of Plato and Lincoln, Elshtain pits Plato's argument against democracy against Lincoln's argument for it. Lincoln was committed to the peoples' capacities to make decisions necessary for a democracy to function, even where other approaches might be more efficient for choosing a path to follow. Elshtain also makes the case for compromising, behavior that is necessary to a form of governance in which citizens of diverse viewpoints must reconcile differences to make government work for the society. The book is very timely. It puts a large perspective about the recently concluded election in which President Clinton's advocates argued that he is a genius at compromisae, and his opponents stated that he vascilates too much.