Walter Lippmann and the American Century — 38 A Private Philosophy

1. 1. Lippmann argued that the sickness of Western liberal democracies came from within, not from external enemies or adversities.
2. 2. Lippmann's remedy for democratic decline was a stronger executive and a return to natural law to limit popular sovereignty.
3. 3. The Public Philosophy received mixed reviews, with critics calling it a 'badly frightened man's' work and an 'assault on democratic government.'
4. 4. General de Gaulle praised Lippmann's book, agreeing that democracy had become confused with parliamentarianism and usurped by professional politicians.
5. 5. Learned Hand disagreed with Lippmann, doubting that stronger executives or natural law would improve democratic government or explain the century's horrors.
6. 6. Lippmann suffered a nervous breakdown shortly after publishing The Public Philosophy, exacerbated by fatigue and disappointing early reception.
7. 7. Lippmann's career showed he often aligned with prevailing public opinion despite his self-image as swimming against the current.
8. 8. Lippmann was a complicated man: a skeptic yearning for order, a realist with suppressed romanticism, and a public figure who loved access to power.
9. 9. Lippmann's marriage to Helen Armstrong gave him emotional strength and ended his earlier stoic detachment.