Between the pincers: George Grant and the crisis of totalitarianism

Abstract

This chapter explores why Grant reduces liberal democracy and communism to a shared philosophical orientation and the political consequences of adopting this position. I argue that Grant’s political reflections are notable for the absence of the central focus of classical political science: the assessment of the comparative justice and injustice of different regimes and political opinions. Instead, Grant reduces various regime types to an opposition between organic political communities “rooted” in a particular moral-political tradition and homogenizing technological societies. By interpreting the struggle between liberal democracy and totalitarianism through this perspective, Grant ignores the moral superiority of liberalism to totalitarianism and is led to adopt ill-considered political views. In an era where we are confronted once again by the alternative between despotism and parliamentary government, reflecting on Grant’s apparent indifference to the contest between liberal democracy and totalitarianism reminds us of the perils of failing to take the political seriously.