Historically speaking, it's better than it was, if you look back at the 18th and 19th centuries. We've got nothing to compare to the Dred Scott decision, for example. Anthony Burgess wrote that civilizations swing back and forth, like a pendulum, between Pelagianism and Augustinianism, as he called it, "Pel phase" and "Gus phase." We seem to be swinging into Gus phase, but maybe it's got its good points, civil liberties need to be balanced by civic responsibilities.
Edit: from "The Wanting Seed," Pelagius believed that man is inherently good, and denied original sin, it's a heresy. Augustus believed that man is inherently evil, and believed in original sin, that's an orthodoxy. |
