Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Founders feared mob rule..........................

............which is why our Constitution established a representative republic of federated states.  That was a long time ago and much has changed.  Victor David Hanson offers his considerable insight on Democracy in the 21st Century:  full essay here.  Excerpt here:

"Most cannot decide whether the democracies are plagued with a particularly poor generation of demagogic leaders, or whether we are suffering the inevitable wages of rule by plebiscite that eats away at constitutional law and prefers executive fiat. What Jefferson and Tocqueville thought might save us from the mob-rule of ancient Athens — the independent agrarian and small autonomous businessperson anchoring checks and balances to 51% majority rule and demagogues — is no longer our ideal."

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