An Imperfect Fit

About the Book

The defining characteristic of modern liberal democrats has been their belief that man is 'fundamentally good' and that the goodness of his nature will come to the surface once he is freed from oppression and want and his actions are guided by 'free choice'. This belief can now be put to the test in the advanced democracies of the West which have essentially satisfied these conditions thus providing man with an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate the fundamental goodness of human nature in practice.

In An Imperfect Fit the author offers a picture of its manifestations and it is not too bright. It shows their growing divergence from the cherished belief in all three dimensions of democracy - liberty, equality, and fraternity. But it also shows a stubborn refusal of democratic establishments to face this reality and their ever greater determination to make the dream come true by forcing the 'fundamental goodness' on man's nature from above by 'perfecting' the system. In this the author sees the greatest danger facing democracy today - 'outdemocratizing' itself into self-destruction.

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About the Author

Vit Klemes, a native of Czechoslovakia, holds engineering and science degrees from technical universities of Brno, Bratislava and Prague. He came to Canada in 1966 and, refusing to return after the Soviet-led invasion of 1968, was sentanced in absentia to two years in prison and confiscation of all property. In Canada he was associate professor at the University of Toronto, then for 17 years a senior scientist in the National Hydrology Research Institute of Environment Canada and, since 1980, a consultant in Victoria, British Columbia.

During his career, Dr. Klemes lectured extensively on all five continents and was visiting professor at universities in Australia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the USA. He has written more than 150 scientific papers and two books, the second of which, bearing the title Common sense and other heresies, was recently ranked by a reviewer as being "amongst the most important contributions to the science of hydrology in the twentieth century". His commentaries on political, social and scientific issues have appeared in Canadian, British, American and Czech newspapers and journals.