Democracy against itself
Jean-Francois Revel
Find this book at buch7.de | eurobuch.com | buchhandel.de | books.google.com ASIN=0029263875, Category: Political Philosophy, Language: E, cover: HC
Translated by Roger Kaplan from the French edition (1992).
(Title of French original: Regain démocratique)
Illuminating facts about democracy, history and post-communism. Some quotes: "...taking for granted an imaginated future" (p10), "....there was never anything democratic about communist regimes."(p23), "The more state, the less law... 'democratorship.'"(p25), "Communism cannot be reformed; it can only be replaced by something else."(p27), "Politics is not a deductive science"(p40), "...to be a revolutionary is always to be a totalitarian...anarchy leads to despotism... despotism leads to anarchy..."(p40).
Especially enlightening is chapter 13 about the French society; in the original it is entitled "le pourrissement dans la tete."
The book includes an index.
Here is an excellent summary and review: Uncharted Waters by Patrick Glynn (1993)