What problems do we face in our unique form of representative democracy? Much of it works very well. But what parts of it don’t work well?
Thomas Jefferson wanted America to be a bottom-up multi-layered republic. In other words, he wanted citizen decision-making power at all levels. That is to say, true sovereignty would exist in local communities, counties, states, and the nation. That should be the definition of the phrase “Jeffersonian democracy”. But what America has is a top-down system … Read more
Many think our government follows the principles championed by Thomas Jefferson. The phrase, “Jeffersonian democracy” is based on Thomas Jefferson’s defeat of the Federalist Party in 1800, and his tremendously democratic view of government. But I argue that, unfortunately, today we live in a society much more influenced by Jefferson’s arch-enemy, Alexander Hamilton. So we … Read more
How would you define democracy? Both the old Soviet Union and Communist China have claimed to be democracies. But do they match your definition of democracy? America is properly called a representative democracy. That is to say, it is a “republic”. That word comes from the Latin and means “for the public good”. So does … Read more
Humanity’s biggest problem is human nature. But humans cannot change human nature. So, to meet American society’s most fundamental needs, we need a government that restrains our nature. And compared to history, our government does a marvelous job of that. But by any absolute standard, our government fails to stop corruption. That tells us that … Read more
We tend to waste time, money, and energy attacking the symptoms of problems and ignore their root causes. What is the root cause of most of America’s problems? I believe it is government corruption. Moreover, I think that happens because we don’t know how to separate money and politics. The love of money is the … Read more
What is “business as usual” in America’s representative democracy today? You can call me stubborn, but I refuse to believe in unsolvable problems. After all, we put men on the moon. I also don’t believe in permanent solutions, because people are selfish by nature. That means they will always find loopholes to get around the … Read more
