Today’s irreverent politics ignore ancient wisdom: The need to know your limits

This piece, written by a scholar of political thought, argues that complaints about politicians' shamelessness echo a concept the ancient Greeks called irreverence: the failure to recognize limits bigger than oneself. Drawing on Plato's Laws, the author contends that reverence, meaning both shame and awe, once functioned as a check on leaders who might otherwise rationalize their own selfishness.

The essay suggests that modern liberal democracies, despite not legislating virtue directly, still depend on citizens and leaders who appreciate the limits of their own judgment. It closes by framing self-government itself as something that should inspire awe, given how demanding democratic citizenship actually is.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.