Liberty or Equality: The Challenge of Our Time Kindle Edition

Although I haven't finished this book; thus far I have found it to be a true gold mine of historically sound thought! Indeed, I wish I had picked it up sooner. The clear warnings laid out about democracy, and its inherent propensity toward equality, are in my opinion quite profound. I am determined to continue pluming the depths of this great volume.

A brilliant, learned book on the illiberal tendencies of democratic and egalitarian movements, by a neglected political philosopher.

This book is essential reading for any serious student of history or political science who wishes to gain a deeper practical and philosophical understanding of Monarchism, Democracy, Catholic nations, 19th century political thought, and National Socialism. Kuehnelt-Leddihn is adept at collecting ideas and quotes from the most learned 19th century writers and connecting them together in helpful ways. He does this without claiming their ideas as his own or ripping their quotes out of context. Many pages in this book are profound and bear multiple re-readings. Overall, Liberty or Equality is a rich and satisfying educational/philosophical feast.

This is a most unusual book. It is informative, perplexing, provocative. It has influenced my thinking more than any other book.

There are mainly two juxtapositions the author uses to distinguish liberty from equality: Catholicism with Protestantism and democracy with monarchy. In discussing religion and politics, Kuehnelt-Leddihn appeals to European and America history. The religious-history discussion focuses on Luther while the political-history discussion offers a rare and undoubtedly romanticized glimpse of life under Renaissance and Baroque-period monarchies. The political-history discussion continues through the French Revolution and culminates in the rise of Nazism.

This is not a history book, though. K-L goes far beyond his historical sketches with an ongoing and much deeper philosophical consideration of his two juxtapositions. And if his historical insights are great, K-L's philosophy is simply astonishing. He shows the American man-on-the-street's understanding of such things as Canon Law, majority rule, and education is woefully inadequate. He challenges the common understanding of Catholicism as "strict", the near-universal faith in democracy, and the widely-held belief that education must be provided to all. This constant opposition to conventional wisdom sets up an important theme late in the book: good governance is lost among the amateur voters and rulers that comprise a democracy. Skillful ruling and diplomacy is the hallmark of monarchy.

Many who read this book will undoubtedly come away with new political considerations. But for me, there is also the even more powerful new consideration of religion. Of course, the two may very well be inseparable for K-L readers anyway, since he is so deeply skeptical of the church-state separation. Even on its own, though, the analysis of Catholicism and Protestantism was compelling; it has deepened my interest in theology and elevated my respect for the the Church.

One star is missing from my rating because the book is a very challenging read and unnecessarily so. My main complaint is that the book is poorly organized. It meanders. But I do very much like the language he uses and appreciate the thorough annotations.

I recommend Liberty or Equality to anyone who finds mainstream political media to be disastrous, is frustrated by No Child Gets Ahead, or can approach the religion-vs-secularism debate with intellectual honesty.