Episode 109: Emily Finley on Undemocratic Democracy and the Seeds of Modern Tyranny

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I’m joined in this episode by Emily Finley, author of The Ideology of Democratism.

Emily is a senior fellow from the Albertus Magnus Institute and an instructor at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy.

In her book, Emily argues that political leaders in many democratic countries differ from their citizens in their understanding of what democracy actually means in practice.

The phrase “a threat to democracy” is used frequently by politicians, often in reference to things many of us consider a part of democracy, like the outcome of an election. On its face this seems contradictory, even incomprehensible, but by introducing the idea of “democratism,” Emily brings things into focus.

Going back to Jean-Jacques Rousseau and The Social Contract, she traces an intellectual and philosophical framework in which the ‘general will’ is seen as fundamentally different to the will of the people as expressed in democratic processes such as elections. Only a chosen few are considered qualified to interpret this ‘general will’, elite leaders who know what the populace ‘really’ wants and needs even if the people themselves say otherwise. These are the “democratists,” individuals with an entirely different attitude to what government is and should be.

This framing is a stark contrast to how we are usually encouraged to think of democracy and the politicians who claim to believe in and practice it, as a manifestation of the popular will, measured by votes cast.

Emily has come up with a brilliant way of examining our current confusing and crucial political moment, and speaking with her helped me understand something about politics that had been nagging at me like something stuck between my teeth.

We go deep into her ideas about the distinction between democracy and democratism, the ways these differences show in our political culture, and what that gap between what the people want and what the leaders want them to want means for the future.

I hope you enjoy the episode, and as always, let me know what you think.

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