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