The Trouble With Democracy author to speak at CHP convention in London

The late Sir Winston Churchill famously said, “Democracy is the worst system of government-except for all the others.” And the great Roman orator Cicero warned that democracy can only last until the electorate discovers that they can vote themselves a share of other people’s wealth. He was right, and that was what led to the collapse of the Republic and the despotic reign of the Caesars. Novelist Taylor Caldwell warned in the 1950s that the United States is going down the same path as Rome: from republic to democracy to dictatorship.

But Dr. William Gairdner’s book The Trouble With Democracy is one of the most insightful studies of representative government I’ve ever read.

Now, the CHP defends democracy because we believe that no one can be trusted with absolute power: everyone who holds any kind of power must be held accountable for the exercise of that power. But we also recognize that there are dangers: the moral corruption of the modern welfare state is one of those dangers. When Francis Fukuyama called liberal democracy “the end of history”, he failed to recognize its potential for corruption and immorality.

Dr. Gairdner’s book traces the history of representative governments, and examines the writings of two “Enlightenment” philosophers whose writings have shaped two very different kinds of “democracy”: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose vision of the “general will” led to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution; and John Stuart Mill-whose work On Liberty is often cited by Libertarians-the father of radical individualism that has, in our time, undermined the very concept of public morality.

Dr. Gairdner will be the keynote speaker at the CHP’s leadership convention in London, Ontario November 5-8 this year. Plenary sessions, of course, are only open to registered CHP members and the media; but Dr. Gairdner’s message can be heard at a banquet that is open to the public-and no one should miss the opportunity to hear him speak. If you take a serious interest in Canada’s future, and in the formation of public policies that will shape that future, you should be there.

Call toll-free 1-888-868-3247 for information.