Democracy: The New Opiate of the Masses? Review of John Dunn, 'Breaking Democracy's Spell'

Abstract

Review of "Breaking Democracy's Spell" by John Dunn. Democracy, the political theorist John Dunn says, has cast a spell on us. That spell has had good and bad effects. But it is not the good effects that preoccupy Dunn in this new book. Instead, his aim is to sound an alarm. We have been naroticized by our faith in the power of democratic processes, Dunn says, and as a result we are neglecting existential threats. But is the alarm about democracy justified -- and if so, how are we supposed to respond to it? On both questions, Breaking Democracy's Spell may leave readers unsatisfied.