More on the neocon cargo cult

I think the metaphor of the cargo cult does indeed capture the debased neoconservative sloganeering that has taken over our country’s political mind. It’s a form of sympathetic magic. If we keep pronouncing the word “democracy” with sufficient enthusiasm and faith, then “democracy” will result, along with a host of other goods such as stable government, an effective army, pro-Western attitudes, rejection of Islamic fundamentalism (read serious Islam), and so on. Similarly, if we get the Iraqis to hold an election, then that means that Iraq now has democracy (a Bushite columnist announced yesterday that “Iraq is now a free country”), from which, once again, it is assumed that all those other goods will automatically flow.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at February 05, 2005 01:39 PM | Send