We Live Under the Tyranny of Majority

Everyone talks about how bad today’s politicians are. Everyone reminisces about days past when good men held office. Everyone complains that today’s ruling class are corrupt, self interested, and simple to boot.

But who is to blame? The United States is ruled by a representative government. In a very real sense, the government that rules over us is a reflection of the way we ourselves live. The government we elect will flow directly from what we value as a society. In a political age when the popular vote is held as the supreme good, it should not be then surprising that it is the populists who grab hold of power. Say what you will of figures like Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders; no one can deny that they appeal to massive bases of popular support. Yet these men are far from the ideal statesman that would have been envisioned in the 1700s. One is a self-aggrandizing businessman and reality TV Star; the other openly embraces Marxism why thriving in his hypocrisy.

America should do better.

The American political society seems to be drawing closer and closer to Rule by Majority. Direct democracy is in vogue as waves of attacks berate the Electoral College, The Senate, and even the Iowa primary caucus. (Let’s be honest, there are much larger issues with that last one.)