Evolving Democracy

There was an interesting article by Bartlett on Townhall.com. The gist of it is that we've got too much democracy in this country. Our institutions have evolved into a gerymandered creature that would repell our founding fathers.

Well, whenever you talk about the evolution of anything, including evolution, all real conservatives know you are entering into a swamp of liberalism and error. And so it is, apparently, with the evolution of democratic institutions in America. As God created the world, so did'st the founding fathers create America: fully formed to perfection. A shining city on the hill which none can tarnish. At least not until the filthy rabble of squabling, self interested members of the electorate express themselves by seeking an even more perfect union.

That the "errors of 1913" can be considered erroneous at all is unbelievably laughable. Can anyone really think that if the states had MORE power that government would be less parocheal? Anbody observed the behavior of their own state legislature lately? State legislatures across the country are the primary governments of, by and for special interests. If you think differently, try to find an anti-casino legislator. You'll have to look hard. State legislatures make the US House look like... um, the Senate.

There is no doubt that a lot of our nation's deliberative bodies seem to lack the capacity for disinterested deliberation. But that is a fault of the electorate as much as the politicians we elect. Our culture is one that elevates and justifies self interest. We say that "greed is good". We argue that the sum of all self-interested action yeilds the public good. The focus of our culture is not disinterest and passionlessness, but interest.

My point being that our institutions are fine, and the trend for expanding democracy is good. What we need to address our faults is not a return to the institutions of the good old days, but a return to the values of those days. A government of by and for all the people is what we need; not a limited government of educated (and wealthy) elites ruling over the crude and filthy rabble. We need more direct democracy, not less, and we need more civic minded citizens and politicians.