La articulación de liberalismo y democracia en Aron y Ortega y Gasset

Abstract

This article analyzes the different ways to see the relationship between democracy and liberalism that Raymond Aron and Ortega y Gasset have. Their visions about that relationship are determined by the socio-historical context in which both of them formulated their theories. Ortega in the 30’s observes the danger that threatens the liberal democracies because of the increase of fascist and bolshevik movements and sees a trend of the States to totalitarianism, which impulse him to formulate a new idea of liberalism. Aron deals, after de Second World War, with a geopolitical view that is dominated by two blocks ideologically opposed, USA and USSR, which he will use to propose two models of democracy, in the first there’s freedom of parties and in the second there’s a unique party. For the French author the democratic ideal is better fulfill by the first model.