H)emocracE anb IReltgion.

53

This truism, apparent in the seventeenthcentury, was only superficially disguised by theeighteenth century theory of the " Law of Nature "(Naturrecht) which survives in Marx and even inthe Soviet doctrine. In the theory of the " Lawof Nature " a metaphysical foundation took theplace of a theological; but the change is notimportant, if we regard metaphysics as the religionof the philosophic mind. The " Nature," which itmeant, was the world of absolute value, as thefinal goal of all politics. The democrat has to" reinstate " this nature and " eliminate " what is" contrary to nature,"—notions quite withoutmeaning if we take our stand on the ground ofmechanistic natural science, which insists thateverything that is, is necessary, everything is" natural," and leaves no room for any sort ofteleology. In the " law of nature" on thecontrary all is referred to a primal norm orstandard, something that ought to be or is to berather than is. If we exclude from our vocabularythe term " God " then " Humanity, " becomes thebearer of the transcendant value, but the termmust then mean something very different from thezoological species homo sapiens. In the backgroundstands the immanence of God in humanity. There-fore the "voice of the people" is "God 's voice."

What is true of democracy in general, appliesto its several main features—religious conceptionswhich have been secularised and adapted to theconditions of modern life.

(i) Liberty is a paradox of modern civilisation.Man entered history and lived for thousands of