Benjamin Carter Hett’s “The Death of Democracy” traces the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich.In a similarly titled book, “How Democracies Die,” the political scientists Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky have recently argued that the killers of democracy begin by using the law against itself.
Many have mocked my warnings on the demise of democracy. We can learn much by thinking in time. What we are witnessing today has a precedent which had an ugly ending. This review of two books concludes with a sober warning.
“The conclusions for conservatives of today emerge clearly: Do not break the rules that hold a republic together, because one day you will need order. And do not destroy the opponents who respect those rules, because one day you will miss them.”