Saturday 30 April 2011

Who said...

"Tradition may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death. Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man's opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect a good man's opinion, even if he is our father."

G K Chesterton, Orthodoxy

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Karl Marx

Steve

bob k. mando said...

ot, but i think this will be right up your alley:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380753/Farmers-fury-gipsy-death-threats-999-results-legally-held-guns-confiscated-case-retaliates.html

Trooper Thompson said...

Thanks Bob, but look down the page!

http://englandsfreedome.blogspot.com/2011/04/worse-than-chocolate-teapot.html

Steve,

I shall assume (and hope!)that was an attempt at humour.

will said...

Some conservative (in the true sense of the word) who was only ever satisfied with 'the good ole days' when the oppression was minutely less and It were he who benefitted. Perhaps some elite slave, some fool who believed his obeisance delivered reward. I dare say that today he would have been a card carrying member of the 'libertarian alliance'.
Democracy is a sham, it is the violence of the persuaded, ignorant, human mob. The mob was no better in 'traditional' times. The individual is always the minority.
True there is little reason why one man may exercise violent oppression over another simply by dint of drawing breath, however there is no objective reason that would legitimise the same for any group of individuals, alive or dead.
That said, I do not assume your quotation to be an endorsement of such sentiment.
Fuck the democrats, whether they be dead democrats or living. Both endorse and legitimise a violent oppression of the individual and this discrepancy between living and dead voters is yet another flaw in the sham.

Trooper Thompson said...

Will,

Your anarchism seems to approach nihilism, but I guess at least you're consistent in your rejection.

What Chesterton is urging is that tradition should counter-balance and restrain democracy.