Principles and Heresies

The essence of a constitutional society is that decisions affecting the body politic are made through established procedures, constructed both to express the over-all consensus of the community and to give play to the conflicting interests of the various minorities that make up the community. The only alternative to such a constitutional regime is a regime of raw power, either of the mob or of a tyrant—and, historically, the anarchic rule of the mob has inevitably given birth to the tyrant.

Most political philosophers have known this, and all the founders of constitutions. It is a truth, however, apparently unknown to the elite of American universities and their followers in the communications media. For one must assume that these gentlemen know not what they do—that they are not devoted to destroying their society. Nevertheless, their course over some time now, and particularly in the last days, has been directed to intimidating and overawing the constituted authorities and forcing national policy into the mold of their ideological presuppositions.

FS

About the Author

Frank S. Meyer

Frank S. Meyer was a senior editor of National Review.

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The essence of a constitutional society is that decisions affecting the body politic are made through established procedures, constructed both to express the over-all consensus of the community and to give play to the conflicting interests of the various minorities that make up the community. The only alternative to such a constitutional regime is a regime of raw power, either of the mob or of a tyrant—and, historically, the anarchic rule of the mob has inevitably given birth to the tyrant.

Most political philosophers have known this, and all the founders of constitutions. It is a truth, however, apparently unknown to the elite of American universities and their followers in the communications media. For one must assume that these gentlemen know not what they do—that they are not devoted to destroying their society. Nevertheless, their course over some time now, and particularly in the last days, has been directed to intimidating and overawing the constituted authorities and forcing national policy into the mold of their ideological presuppositions.