By
Michael Maccoby
As we
debate the military takeover of the democratically elected Egyptian government,
we should seriously consider the consequences of promoting budding democratic
movements. Our well-meaning efforts are based on a profound confusion about our
own history and the role of democracy. When did democracy become the end rather
than a means toward creating a government that would protect individual
liberty? The term democracy does not appear in the Declaration of Independence
or in the US Constitution. The purpose of the Constitution, stated in the
preamble, was “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and
secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” The special
importance of liberty was emphasized by the first ten amendments to the
Constitution. Abraham Lincoln affirmed the principle of liberty in his debates
with Stephen A. Douglas and the Civil War against the claims of Southerners
that they had a democratic right to choose slavery and succession.
Democracy
is an essential means to safeguard liberty. It provides the means for the
people to elect their representatives and also dispose of them. But as James
Madison warned in Federalist 10, democracy can threaten liberty. He writes that
factions will form with conflicting ideologies and agendas, and if a majority
party is not controlled, it may oppress minorities. This is what happened in
Gaza and Egypt. To avoid this result, Madison proposed and the framers of the
Constitution agreed that this government should be a republic, not a democracy,
with checks on democracy.
The
American republic is structured to further the purposes of the Constitution by
establishing a balance of authority between executive, legislative, and
judicial structures. The president and members of Congress are elected
democratically, although it took many years to enfranchise all adult Americans.
The Supreme Court, appointed by the president and confirmed by a majority of
Senators, cannot be voted out of office unless they are proved to have made an
egregious offense. Although their decisions are by majority, they are the least
democratic of the federal decision making groups because they can’t be voted
out of office by the people.
We
seem to forget that this country is a republic formed to further specific
purposes when we promote democracy for other countries without clarifying that
it is a means, not an end. We fail to warn others that without checks and
balances and protections for justice and liberty, democracy can produce
autocratic dictators, as it has done time and again from Hitler to Hamas.
The
idea of democracy as the end rather than a means was promoted by Woodrow Wilson
in his address to Congress, April 12, 1917. He asked for a declaration of war
against Germany, stating that “the world must be made safe for democracy”. The
context was his belief that the autocratic and unelected Kaiser Wilhelm II was
responsible for the war and attacks on US ships. He believed that “free and
self-governed people” would maintain peaceful relations. Even if this is so,
democracy by itself including elections does not guarantee a free people. That
also requires protective laws, controls of authority, and an uncorrupted system
that administers justice.
Why
then do public officials and editorial writers advocate democracy as a goal
rather than a means for developing a more just society? Is it because
Libertarians wave the banner of liberty against an interpretation of the
general welfare supporting government attempts to build a more equal society?
Is it because the gun lobbyists have hijacked the concept of liberty? Or is it
because unlike the founders of this country who were independent farmers,
craftsmen and professionals, who had suffered under the yoke of Britain, most
Americans now work for organizations and have already accepted limitations of
their independence? Liberty has lost some of its original meaning for many
Americans.
Even
with our Constitution, liberty is sometimes constrained and threatened by
decisions to favor national defense, the administration of justice, or the
general welfare. And recently, extremes of NSA spying on citizens and threats
to freedom of the press seem to awaken fears of losing our liberty. However, when
the purpose set forth in the preamble of the Constitution conflict, our
democratic processes should facilitate debate within the republican framework.
So before we cheer democratic elections in other countries,
let’s caution others that democracy is not enough and use our influence to help
them frame constitutions that protect liberty and further the common good
before they hold national elections, just as we did in 1789.
Michael Maccoby’s most recent
book is Transforming Health Care
Leadership, A Systems Guide to Improve Patient Care, Decrease Costs, and
Improve Population Health with Clifford L. Norman, C. Jane Norman, and
Richard Margolies.
