We, the People, may be in serious trouble.

[In a post called “What a Mole,” Patrick] Deneen . . . insisted that the failure of political leaders to call for self-restraint is “an indication of our enslavement to appetites over which we have no control. This latter condition was defined by the ancients as a condition of servitude, not liberty.” In an entry dated October 2, 2008 called “Democracy in America,” Deneen raises questions about the viability of democracy in a culture that eschews limits and self-control. Citing Tocqueville’s insight that democracy was a collection of mores as much as it was a system of government, he reviews Tocqueville’s warning about how the very success of democracy could lead to its undoing.