The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law by Jonathan Sumption

I picked this book up on a recent visit to Cogito Books very much on impulse and based largely on a general interest in the subject and also having heard the author speak on the R4 Today programme.

It was not an easy read and much less so than I had expected.  I found myself rereading sentences more often than I would have liked.  While it is clearly intended for a general rather than a legal audience there are rather frequent legalese turns of phrase that I found rather unclear on many occasions.  It was not all bad news however and many of the issues that he raises were fascinating and insightful.

The idea that democracies are vulnerable mainly from within came as something of a surprise but he supports that view quite eloquently.  Jonathan tells us that we in Britain expect much more protection from the state than was once the case; we have become more risk averse.  This leads governments to make decisions based on what the public is likely to blame them for rather than what is best for society.  He clearly takes a very critical view of the covid lockdowns and describes the approach as Hobbsian.

While considering democracy he warns us that autocracy which is what many democracies degenrate into is a very bad form of government and often leads to quick and bad decision making.  This argument counters the often held view that democracy leads to paralysis and indecisive measures being taken.

There are some interesting elements of conflict discussed - that of morality versus consent for instance.  This amounts to the dichotomy  between the moral ideal and what is acceptable to the populace.  Privacy and security are in similar conflict.  He frames the undesirable result of the winning of 'consent' over 'morality' as 'majoritarian tyranny' - shades of Brexit perhaps ?