Is Democracy Government based only on the Consent of the Governed? Classical liberalism takes the most basic question about a social institution as: “consent or coercion.” Democracy is often characterized as “government based on the consent of the governed” so non-democratic government is then typically condemned as being involuntary and coercive. This common condemnation of [...]
Posts tagged alienable natural rights
Why was Slavery Wrong? Involuntariness or Treating Persons as Things?
“Involuntariness” is the usual answer. Indeed, classical liberalism takes the most basic framing of a social question as: “consent or coercion?” In this view, democracy is characterized as government “with the consent of the governed” so slavery and non-democratic government were both condemned for the lack of consent. This common condemnation of slavery on the [...]