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1. I became hooked on political science, among other things nearly 50 years ago, so to list the books I've read on the subject would just take too long. I do promise to list a few of them as we go.
2. First, you must understand that the word "democracy" has undergone a gradual change in meaning beginning in the late 18th century. According to Josh Ober [1], the word democracy never meant majority rule, but the capacity to do things.
3. Monarchy means rule (archos) of the one (monos). Oligarchy means rule of the few (hoi oligoi), but democracy demos (the people) and kratos (power), and that power means a capacity to do things, to access elements of the common good.
4. There was no doubt about the ability of the king or the elite to do things, only whether they ruled or controlled the political apparatus; hence, there has never been a political regime such as monos kratos, or hoi oligoi kratos.
5. Today, some distinguish between democracy as a type of government where periodic, free elections are held, and democracy as a form of government where the majority rule. Elections are aristocratic in nature and are opposed to the equalitarian principles of democracy.
6. Originally, Athenian democracy selected government officials not through election, which presupposes the selection of the best, but through sortition, through lots. This guaranteed equal access to government office and ensured rotation so you didn't have career politicians.
7. It wasn't until the late 18th century that democracy began to be subsumed under republicanism. [2] The Founding Fathers understood democracy this way, but they invariably spoke of pure or direct democracy which they understood to be a recipe for mob (hoi polloi) rule.
8. Richard Hofstadter [3] gives an excellent discussion of how anti-democracy in his landmark book, The American Political Tradition. He notes that one of the main things uniting the Founders was that they were all great enemies of democracy.
9. At the Constitutional Convention, Edmund Randolph said that the evils facing the country originated in "the turbulence and follies of democracy," and that the great danger lay in "the democratic parts of our constitutions."
10. Elbridge Gerry called democracy "the worst of all political evils." William Livingston said that the people were "unfit to retain the exercise of power in their own hands." Hamilton advocated a permanent governmental body to "check the imprudence of democracy."
11. The Founders understood that power had to be derived from the people, but they also knew that democracy was always transitory, leading to another state, either tyranny or mob rule.
12. Hofstadter expressed the dilemma thusly: "Unwilling to turn their backs on republicanism, the Fathers also wished to avoid violating the prejudices of the people."
13. Jeremy Belknap summed it up in a letter to a friend: "Let it stand as a principle that government originates from the people; but let the people be taught ... that they are not able to govern themselves."
14. The Fathers viewed man as a depraved animal driven by self-interests; they had no doubt that if the democracy gained control, they would oppress the aristocracy and vice versa.
15. They knew man could not be changed, nor did they believe virtue could check vice, so they settled on checking vice with vice. Madison said, "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition..." Why do you think we have a tripartite government or a bicameral congress?
16. The President and Congress are not supposed to just get along; they're supposed to check each other. Senate was supposed to be the adult in the room to temper the passions of the people represented in the House. This is why Senators were originally appointed, not elected.
17. If you want to use the term democracy in a very modern, generic sense simply to refer to the people having a say in government, I don't have a real problem with that.
18. But what frosts my berries is when the Left cries about "our democracy;" it's invariably an attack against our republican institutions designed to protect us against "democracy" in the form of mob rule.
19. They say "we must abolish the EC because it violates the principles of democracy;" to which I always respond, "it's supposed to, you dumbass." The Left wants mob rule; they know the mob is stupid, emotional, and easily manipulated to support their evil agenda.
20. And the Left is good at manipulating the mob. You will never see Republicans rioting, looting, and vandalizing. You won't see them dragging people from their cars to beat their ass, or harassing people eating in restaurants with their families.
21. Look at this piece of propaganda that Feinstein is spewing. the blue slip process is a tradition that began under the Democrats. Just looking at how unjustly they treat political opponents like Kavanaugh should make their appeal to "Senatorial Courtesy" laughable.
22. Yet here you are talking about an abandonment of democracy because were following the Constitution? On a side note, the Democratic-Republican Party was called the Republican Party, not the Democratic-Republican Party, because they embraced republicanism.
23. References:
[1] Ober, Josh princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/ob…
[2] academia.edu/31731776/LOST_…
[3] Hofstadter, Richard, The American Political Tradition.
[1] Ober, Josh princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/ob…
[2] academia.edu/31731776/LOST_…
[3] Hofstadter, Richard, The American Political Tradition.
