Public Persons

This set of brief pieces examines the relation of power toknowledge. Lippmann paid little homage to the innatewisdom of the people. While he had no wish to disenfranchisecitizens, he believed elites drove the engines ofpower. His point was that liberty and democracy requiregovernment that will, when necessary, "swim against thetides of private feelings." Because the public is too divided,poorly informed, and too self-regarding, authority has tobe delegated, perhaps to "intelligence bureaus," or at leastto those who are wiser than the many that have the powerto decide vexing questions on their own merits.Lippmann knew that in the real world we cannot expectto be ruled by philosopher-kings. While ready to settlefor less, he was not ready to settle for politicians who getahead "only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozleand otherwise manage to manipulate demandingand threatening elements in their constituencies." Theseducers and bamboozlers were generally in charge, andbecause they were in an age "rich with varied and generouspassions" they had become disorderly and deranged.Public Persons is the informal side of The Public Philosophy.Lippmann tries to account for the decline ofWestern democracies and prescribe for their revival. Heconcludes that it is not possible to discover by rationalinquiry the conditions that must be met if there is to bea good society. Lippmann saw tension between privateimpulses and transcendent truth as the "inexhaustibletheme of human discourse." The occasional harmonies inthe lives of saints and the deeds of heroes and the excellenceof genius are glorious. But glory was the exception,wretchedness the rule. In this casual volume both aregiven a human face.