Beware the Neocons

Ken MacLoed links to this article about the profoudly antidemocratic beliefs of Leo Strauss, the ideological guru many of the Bush regime's neocons.

The ancient philosophers whom Strauss most cherished believed that the unwashed masses were not fit for either truth or liberty, and that giving them these sublime treasures would be like throwing pearls before swine. In contrast to modern political thinkers, the ancients denied that there is any natural right to liberty. Human beings are born neither free nor equal. The natural human condition, they held, is not one of freedom, but of subordination � and in Strauss�s estimation they were right in thinking so.

Ken MacLoed himself says:

Strauss warned the elite that they should dissemble, because if the truth about their views and aims came out they would face the persecution of the masses. Let us hope he was right. Witch-hunts, purges and show trials are essential weapons of democracy: witch-hunts to detect anti-democratic conspirators, purges to smoke them out of the state apparatus, and show trials to expose their crimes before the public.

Sounds worryingly Stalinist, Ken. I do hope you're being ironic here.