No, he said, our system is as corruptible as any other. The only thing that stands between us and despotism is the virtue of the American people. And as Dr. Rossum mentioned, that virtue is very much in question, as is the virtue of the people of Taiwan, as is the virtue of every other people on the face of the earth. And upon this the future of the things we value depends. Note that perhaps out of ignorance, but a serendipitous ignorance, the heroes of Tiennemen Square held up what they called the goddess of democracy, which of course was none other than the Statue, not of democracy, but of Liberty.
Democracy is a means to liberty.
It does not invariably produce it. Dr. Angelo Codevilla is a Professor of International Relations at Boston College and a Senior Fellow at The Claremont Institute. Subscribe to the Claremont Institute's Precepts to receive the latest news and information about foreign affairs and other topics via e-mail.