In this keynote lecture for the Ben Franklin Fellowship’s Freedom 250 Symposium at the Victims of Communism Museum, Hadley Arkes recounts the historical evils of communist and authoritarian regimes; and the goodness of America’s opposition to them. Indeed, he says, many people once under communist regimes are alive and well today because of the policy of opposition and intervention adopted by America, a regime rooted in natural rights.
Professor Arkes also addresses a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between democracy, natural rights, and the regime—what Lincoln called “the degradation of the democratic dogma.” Should citizens of a regime rooted in natural rights, which necessarily guarantees some democratic elements, be allowed to destroy or alienate those rights of their neighbors by simple democratic majority? He hearkens back to Aristotle, and his theories of the moral association of a political society and the moral essence of the regime. Please listen for a fascinating discussion of political philosophy, morality, history, and U.S. foreign policy.
