Leo Strauss and his Critics of Democracy

Strauss views modern mass democracy in its relation to mass culture. He sees his own concept of liberal education, viable also in the modern times, as an opposition to mass culture. This education is rooted in the aristocratic antique republicanism. Virtually every politics remains suspicious to philosophy and does not freely accept its own true image. Political philosophy, in Strauss opinion, sometimes has got to avoid persecution using 'noble lies' or hiding some of its findings. Modern democracies are bound to promote instrumental and material values and modern open society according to Strauss is prone to self-destructing relativism. Strauss noted that commercial republics unofficially repress and discriminate people and groups representing strong beliefs and treating high values as objective values. The ideas that all the points of view are equal and that in the light of egalitarian conformism any visible lack of democracy is immoral to Strauss were dangerous illusions. In the opinion of the American philosopher of politics the victory of democracy may not be final, nevertheless it is sure that a man can be really free only if he tries to be brave.