Democracy’s External Allies

Abstract

Chapter 2 looks at foreign doctrines, practices, and people that were held to be sources of democratic dynamics. Amongst them were the much-despised Jesuits, who became stigmatized as fomenters of democracy. In particular, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, Robert Parsons, and Juan de Mariana were identified as ambitious democratic leaders who instilled in the populace the fanciful and obnoxious idea that power resided in popular hands and that monarchs could be disposed of in order to promote popular government. In line with events concerning the Society of Jesus and ideological attitudes towards it, developed in France, amongst English thinkers—the most prominent being King James VI and I (reigned 1603–25)—the Jesuits were branded corruptors of ordinary people’s minds and, therefore, were seen as popular demagogues. In turn, Jesuit authors accused their Protestant counterparts (notably, Genevan Calvinists and those influenced by them) of being radical democrats intent on turning political and ecclesiastical life wholly upside down. Particular targets were theorists such as John Knox and George Buchanan. Whether directed at Jesuit opinions or at Puritan principles, anti-democratic criticism expressed a deep fear of the power of rhetoric, which was associated with democratic politics and democratic life. Democracy as a regime was, therefore, coupled with cacophonous speech and with the degeneration of civilization. Lastly, this chapter shows how anti-democracy was an encompassing ideological critique in that it tackled political, theological, and social issues. By attacking all sorts of novelties, anti-democracy also connected a multiplicity of political and religious scenarios nationally and internationally.