Rod Dreher’s best selling book, Live Not By Lies, has sparked a conversation about the rise of soft-totalitarianism in the United States. The basic thesis of the book is that we are being warned of the signs of totalitarianism by those who have experienced it firsthand during the Cold War.
Totalitarianism, in short, is a form of government where the state is the ruling institution of society. All other institutions of culture and society such as family, religion, education, and business, are dictated by the state. This form of state rule is opposed to individual liberty. Dreher sees a soft totalitarianism creeping into our lives through social justice ideology and through surveillance technology. You can think it through for yourself to see if his assessment is accurate.
The book is divided into two parts: Part one explains the problem as Dreher sees it. And, in Part two he gives suggestions about what can be done given the rise of soft totalitarianism. I had the opportunity to have a conversation with some of my friends from Faulkner University about part one. You can join us in the conversation through this YouTube video. We will post the next installment soon.
Retrieval Philosophy 