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What Is a Man? by Waller R. Newell5/18/2023 ![]() ![]() His new book, Tyrants: A History of Power, Injustice, and Terror, provides an accessible overview and survey of tyranny, ancient and modern. Newell, professor of political science and philosophy at Carleton University in Ottawa, has devoted considerable attention in recent years to the problem of tyranny. Today, it seems an almost absurd characterization of our world-a beautiful vision of an imaginary place. It’s a harmonious picture of humans peacefully at home with themselves. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery.” This rhetoric-the “call” coming to every “mind” and “soul”-captured the new millennium’s popular fusion of faith and reason, where Christ meets Kojève in the possibility of universal satisfaction in a liberal world. Bush set an ambitious national task in his Second Inaugural: henceforth, America would “support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.” He expressed no doubt about the outcome: “Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. ![]()
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