equalitarian ideal least in the liberal U.S.] does not [typically] spring from pure “the …[at ethical imagination” from abstracted utopianism or Leftist dogmas -- but from the – particular circumstances of actual life. In fronting the world politically and legally, the relative attentiveness to the claims of individuals and those of the community will vary. individual and “Both collective centers of human vitality may be endlessly elaborated. premature “ “Any definition of what the limits of these elaborations ought to be,” moreover, “inevitably destroys and suppresses legitimate forms of life and culture.” definition of the “Every restraints which must be placed upon these vitalities must be tentative; because all such definitions, which are themselves the products of specific historical insights, may prematurely arrest or suppress a legitimate vitality, if they are made absolute and fixed.” The community must consistently re-examine the presuppositions upon which it orders its life, because no age can fully anticipate or predict the legitimate and creative vitalities which may arise in subsequent ages.” This was one of the key grounds upon which Niebuhr defended democracy with a full accounting of its perils as the most effective – – means for people to live together in time morally, ethically, and politically. freedom is right Niebuhr affirmed, because is no historical “[D]emocratic …, “there reality, whether it be church or government, whether it be the reason of wise men or specialists, which is not involved in the flux and relativity of human existence; which is not subject to error and sin, and which is not tempted to exaggerate its errors and sins when they are made immune to criticism.” To be genuinely moral, “Democracy … requires something more than a religious devotion to moral ideals.” requires religious “It humility.” When it comes to equality, the eruption of dissent and the preoccupation at a
“the equalitarian ideal …[at least in the liberal U.S.] does not [typically] spring from pure ethical imagination” – from abstracted utopianism or Leftist dogmas -- but from the particular circumstances of actual life. In fronting the world politically and legally, the relative attentiveness to the claims of individuals and those of the community will vary. “Both individual and collective centers of human vitality may be endlessly elaborated. “ “Any premature definition of what the limits of these elaborations ought to be,” moreover, “inevitably destroys and suppresses legitimate forms of life and culture.” “Every definition of the restraints which must be placed upon these vitalities must be tentative; because all such definitions, which are themselves the products of specific historical insights, may prematurely arrest or suppress a legitimate vitality, if they are made absolute and fixed.” The community must consistently re-examine the presuppositions upon which it orders its life, because no age can fully anticipate or predict the legitimate and creative vitalities which may arise in subsequent ages.” This was one of the key grounds upon which Niebuhr defended democracy – with a full accounting of its perils – as the most effective means for people to live together in time morally, ethically, and politically. “[D]emocratic freedom is right …, Niebuhr affirmed, because “there is no historical reality, whether it be church or government, whether it be the reason of wise men or specialists, which is not involved in the flux and relativity of human existence; which is not subject to error and sin, and which is not tempted to exaggerate its errors and sins when they are made immune to criticism.” To be genuinely moral, “Democracy … requires something more than a religious devotion to moral ideals.” “It requires religious humility.” When it comes to equality, the eruption of dissent and the preoccupation at a
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