6 thoughts on ““Terrified Of Democracy””

  1. Pingback: The Greek Vote Points Out The Flaw In The Eurocrats’ System « Tai-Chi Policy

  2. Why should the EU establish want elections when they can be dictators? In trying to create their bureaucratic EUtopia, they get all the advantages of the Politbureau without the summary executions of the old Soviet Union. From their perspective, what’s not to love?

  3. One does wonder what is planned in the long term. And Daniel Hannan’s choice of literature, quoting the title of one of C. S. Lewis’s most interesting books, “That Hideous Strength”. I can’t do the book justice, but to summarize, the world is slowly taken over by a supernatural unholy power (I gather Satan, though I don’t recall if C. S. Lewis identified it as such in the book) through a technocratic organization called “NICE” (National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments).

    The two key features of NICE for our purpose was first, that it was a deeply nested hierarchy of elites. You had the general public on the outside, then spies and snitches that got extra privileges and power, then law enforcement, then the apparatus of NICE, researchers who could conduct human experiments and the like on a whim and propagandists, security personnel, the inner circle which controlled NICE, and of course, the unholy power at the center of it all. In each case, without exception, the rung treated those below it with scorn and deep fear of the levels above. Everyone in the end was a dupe, fooled and coerced by the power, the “hideous strength” at the center.

    Second, the behavior of NICE as it gathered and consolidated power is disturbingly similar to that of the European Union though obviously more diabolical and extreme. It posed as a rational technocracy which was to gather the best minds of humanity to lead humanity. But behind the scenes they slowly built a tyranny, removing or destroying obstacles as they appeared.

    The subversion of governments was a essential part of the growth of NICE. They were able to offer power, health, and a variety of other perks to politicians who passed laws or engaged in other activities which furthered the power of NICE. At a number of places, key laws or court actions would occurred which greatly benefited NICE at the expense of the people. The politicians or other figures who betrayed the public trust would then be rewarded with a powerful position in NICE’s ruling bureaucracy. Similarly, politicians who do the same for current EU member countries can sometimes pick up a position in the EU bureaucracy.

    I do find it a bit eerie that the EU does mirror some of these features of this novel.

  5. Karl, as a few people have said regarding Orwell’s 1984, it was meant to be a warning, not an instruction manual. That could be the case here.

    1. Heh, Don. I was thinking the same thing. Add another dystopian novel to the list of unintended “how to” books.

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