… is from page 307 of Thomas Sowell’s monumental 1980 volume, Knowledge and Decisions:
It is not the source or the ruthlessness of power alone which defines totalitarianism, but the unprecedented scope of the activities subjected to political control.
DBx: Indeed. And in this way progressivism is an even graver threat to liberty than is populism, for progressives are far more intent than are populists at subjecting to political control as many activities as possible.
Please do not read into the previous paragraph any suggestion that populism is acceptable. Populism is deeply illiberal and much to be feared. It must be fought against and subdued if liberal civilization is to survive. But the enemy of my enemy is not thereby my friend. Progressivism – if only because, compared to populism, the mask it wears is friendlier and the tones in which it speaks are more dulcet – is an even greater threat to liberal civilization than is populism. Embracing, or even tolerating, progressivism as a means of subduing populism – or simply because progressivism is currently the most practical political option to populism – is a foolish move for anyone wishing for a revival of true liberalism.
