This set of brief pieces examines the relation of power to
knowledge. Lippmann paid little homage to the innate wisdom of the
people. While he had no wish to disenfranchise citizens, he
believed elites drove the engines of power. His point was that
liberty and democracy require government that will, when necessary,
"swim against the tides of private feelings." Because the public is
too divided, poorly informed, and too self-regarding, authority has
to be delegated, perhaps to "intelligence bureaus," or at least to
those who are wiser than the many that have the power to decide
vexing questions on their own merits.
Lippmann knew that in the real world we cannot expect to be
ruled by philosopher-kings. While ready to settle for less, he was
not ready to settle for politicians who get ahead "only as they
placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle and otherwise manage to
manipulate demanding and threatening elements in their
constituencies." The seducers and bamboozlers were generally in
charge, and because they were in an age "rich with varied and
generous passions" they had become disorderly and deranged.
"Public Persons" is the informal side of "The Public
Philosophy." Lippmann tries to account for the decline of Western
democracies and prescribe for their revival. He concludes that it
is not possible to discover by rational inquiry the conditions that
must be met if there is to be a good society. Lippmann saw tension
between private impulses and transcendent truth as the
"inexhaustible theme of human discourse." The occasional harmonies
in the lives of saints and the deeds of heroes and the excellence
of genius are glorious. But glory was the exception, wretchedness
the rule. In this casual volume both are given a human face.
General
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