Ep 140: Is ‘Democracy’ a Scam? with Laurie Calhoun

In this episode I welcome back Laurie Calhoun, an author and senior fellow at the Libertarian Institute. Laurie published a recent article at the Libertarian Institute entitled “Sham-ocracy, Scam-ocracy” in which she explores how the rhetoric of democracy has been used in pursuit of very anti-democratic ends. We discuss how democracy theoretically means ‘the rule of the people’ and how the political and media class as co-opted it to mean something much different. We explore how ‘Russiagate’, the Trump trials, and his attempted assassination are undemocratic, how European challengers to right-wing political parties claims they are a threat to democracy, and Trump’s own failure to embody democracy during his presidency. She then explains how war is the greatest threat to democracy, how both parties participate in the warfare state, why the Cold War and the War on Terror were not democratic, and if World War II can properly be described as a ‘just’ war. We close by reflecting on the downsides of Democracy and the need for constitutional restraints and free speech. 

Media Referenced:

https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/sham-ocracy-scam-ocracy/

Laurie Calhoun at the Libertarian Institute: https://libertarianinstitute.org/author/lcalhoun/

Blog: https://thedroneage.wordpress.com/

Laurie on X: @laurielcalhoun

Mises Article on French Elections: https://mises.org/power-market/warmongers-win-french-legislative-election-while-everyone-else-loses

The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!