Democracies and Utopian Ideologies

When it comes to the history of violence, the significant distinction is not one between theistic and atheistic regimes. It’s the one between regimes that were based on demonizing, utopian ideologies (including Marxism, Nazism, and militant religions) and secular liberal democracies that are based on the ideal of human rights.  Data from the political scientist Rudolph Rummel shows that democracies are vastly less murderous than alternatives forms of government.

democracies

Full democracies are in green, flawed in yellow, hybrid regimes in orange and authoritarian regimes in red.

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