The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Ulysses and Aphrodite

2022-05-24T16:41:55.069Z


We need to be polytheists, but that is complicated if, as is the case now, the cult of a deity overlaps with an ideology


The classic gods of modern democracy are Ulysses and Aphrodite.

Ulysses, the legendary hero who tied himself to the ship's mast to resist the song of the sirens and not fall into the sea, symbolizes the constitutional control of the rulers.

The ropes of the Basic Law reduce the mobility of the Executive, but are beneficial.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, represents the unleashed passion of the popular majority.

So unstable was eroticism seen by the Greeks that, it is said, the oaths made before Aphrodite were not valid in court.

And yet, what would life be without love?

A healthy democracy requires that we respect both Ulysses and Aphrodite.

The monotheistic cult of Aphrodite leads to populism, which yearns to make decisions in replicas of the Athenian agora, whether it is the assembly movement that has traditionally sponsored the radical left or the plebiscitary democracy that the radical right is increasingly promoting, calling for referendums on the EU or immigration.

And an Ulysses-like cult degenerates into technocracy.

With handcuffed rulers, power ends up falling to robed and experts.

We need to be polytheistic, but that is complicated if, as is the case now, the worship of a deity overlaps with an ideology.

Throughout history, the political right frequented more the temple of Odysseus and the left that of Aphrodite.

Conservative politicians called for robust constitutions that would leave individual rights, especially property rights, out of the reach of rulers elected by inflamed masses thirsty for social justice.

But there were exceptions, like the civil rights movement in the United States.

Today, on the contrary, it is the left that insistently asks that the constitutional courts protect certain legal assets from the momentary passions of the majority.

In the US they want the Supreme Court to guarantee women's reproductive rights in the face of the feverish anti-abortionist legislatures of the southern states;

and, in Europe, constitutionally shield social rights such as pensions or health.

Every day, the devotees of Ulysses are more to the left and those of Aphrodite are more to the right, and this can provoke seismic tensions in democracy: what is more legitimate, the specific Constitution or the general will?

@VictorLapuente

Exclusive content for subscribers

read without limits

subscribe

I'm already a subscriber

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-05-24

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.