Messianic democracy
Encyclopedia
Messianic democracy is a neologism originally used by Jacob Talmon
is his book The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (1951) to describe the "democracy by force" doctrines of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
and its philosophical descendants, as an effective tyranny that demotes democratic
principle to rhetorical use only. Variants include totalitarian democracy
and Jacobin democracy
.
Jacob Talmon
Jacob Leib Talmon was Professor of Modern History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem...
is his book The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (1951) to describe the "democracy by force" doctrines of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and its philosophical descendants, as an effective tyranny that demotes democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
principle to rhetorical use only. Variants include totalitarian democracy
Totalitarian democracy
Totalitarian democracy is a term made famous by Israeli historian J. L. Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the...
and Jacobin democracy
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
.
- Indeed, from the vantage point of the mid twentieth century the history of the last hundred and fifty years looks like a systematic preparation for the headlong collision between empirical and liberal democracy on the one hand, and totalitarian Messianic democracy on the other, in which the world crisis of to-day consists. - J. L. Talmon http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/PS/Finley/PS425/reading/Talmon.html