Word
Gems
What is a
man but the sum of his thoughts?
- Mortimer Adler's
- Syntopicon
Essays
Democracy:
Editor's
1-minute essay
The notion of citizenship is a world-shattering idea, subverting the realms of
tyrants and despots. It all began in ancient Greece -- and it's still a revolutionary
concept in many places today.
Citizenship suggests government; and the particular form of government that we
enjoy in the United States, and in other western countries, is, of course, Democracy --
one of the great ideas of history.
Many today, asked to define Democracy, might say, "majority rule" or
"popular sovereignty." These are components of Democracy, but they don't express
its core meaning.
Further, it is said that we no longer have a true democracy but a republican form
of government.
Adler states:
- "A republic is simply that type of constitutional
government in which officeholders are chosen by the citizens. A constitutional government
is one is which the basic organization and offices are set forth by law. It is a
government of laws rather than of men. Louis XIV's 'I am the state' and Adolf Hitler's 'I
am the law' are typical expressions of governments that are not constitutional."
Democracy is a form of republican or constitutional government; here, a majority
rather than a minority choose those who will hold office.
Adler points out a misunderstood statement of some of the Founding Fathers who
said that they preferred a republic to a democracy. But "what they meant by a
republic was a representative democracy, in which the people delegate lawmaking and
executive powers to the officeholders they elect."
The Founders thought this method to be superior to that employed in ancient Greece
where the citizenry attempted to rule en masse by direct action.
This issue regarding citizenry representation highlights an interesting difference
between democracy and another form of government, aristocracy. This latter form dictates
that only the best and the brightest should hold office.
Aristocracy, anciently conceived, viewed humankind as essentially
"unequal"; that is, it was believed that some were by nature innately equipped
to rule over men. For example, Artistotle believed that some men were naturally fitted to
be slaves.
Adler asserts that, in contrast, democracy views mankind as essentially
"equal." But he goes on to state that, whereas aristocracy errs by stressing
mankind's inequality, democracy tends to emphasize too much our commonality.
Granted, as stated by Jefferson in the Declaration, "all men are
created equal" -- that is, all human beings are equal as persons, and share
the same dignity commensurate with that status. However, Adler goes on to declare, we are different
in terms of how our human capabilities manifest themselves -- in other words, people have
different talents and strengths.
Adler calls Egalitarian Democracy that form of government which thinks
that anyone and everyone is just as capable of holding office as the next person. The
citizens of ancient Greece chose their officials by lottery -- pure chance, suggesting
that they took seriously this deficient method of establishing government.
And while many would likely agree that Egalitarian Democracy lacks total
wisdom, the day-to-day methods we employ in our democratic way of life would suggest that
we, too, operate on this level. Adler offers the examples of opinion polls, lobbying
groups, and the large-scale pressuring of representatives with phone calls and letters --
these, he says, are forms of Egalitarian Democracy.
Do we elect our representatives, wise and competent men and women, in order that they
might then lead us? Or are we sending to office pawns and puppets, thereby allowing ourselves
to rule directly and en masse?
These are some of the problems of Democracy.
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