Topic: Democracy
The Oppression of Democracy Our country was not founded as a democracy. The tyranny of democracy is causing strife between factions of society. Excessive school taxes and government growth have been the product of democracy.by Jay
(libertarian)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
From an early age our society falsely teaches us that our country was founded as a democracy. School teachers, journalists, and politicians alike all wrongly praise democracy. In our government schools, the adamant opposition to democracy of our country's founders is not taught. Our founders specifically avoided the creation of a democracy. Rather they created a Constitutionally Limited Republic.
In the Federalist Papers Number 10, James Madison asserts "Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority." In a democracy the rights of the minority are trampled by the will of the majority. Our founders were unanimous in opposing the formation of a democracy.
Today we have school boards using the tyranny of democracy to take wealth from the minority for the benefit of the majority. For 2008 the New Jersey the average home owner paid $7,045 in property taxes. Annually the increase in property taxes has exceeded the rate of inflation.
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." - Ben Franklin
The private sector in New Jersey is withering away. High taxation and over regulation is forcing private sector jobs out of the state. The number of government employees is exploding and more and more private businesses are relying on government contracts. As the majority of the voting population becomes dependent on government largess, the majority shall use democracy as a hammer to steal wealth from the minority. The republic is in grave danger.
Democracy sets business owners against government employees, homeowners against parents, union workers against non-union workers, and the wealthy against the poor. Around the world democracy causes oppression of minority religions and ethnicities. Democracy is the cause of much conflict and strife in our world.
Many have demanded citizen initiative and referendum in New Jersey. Mike Gravel (a former Libertarian Presidential contender) seeks a National Initiative for Democracy. As shown by the recent vote against gay marriage in California, such a mechanism can be used by the majority to take away the rights of the minority. A national citizen referendum on the National or State level would lead to oppression of the rights of the minority.
Interesting Links and Articles on this Topic
Democracy VS Republic - Which Is America? - 'Slayerment' blog article on the foundations of our government. Comments section has lots of notable quotes from our founders on the subject.
The Tyranny of The Majority - Article by David Shelton from 2008 on our republic, constitution, and the court decision overturning California's marriage ban (prior to the referendum).
The views expressed in this
article are those of Jay only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Jay is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
"As shown by the recent vote against gay marriage in California, such a mechanism can be used by the majority to take away the rights of the minority."
Your logic is a failure. People of the same sex *never* had the right to marry in the first place. Everyone has always had the right to marry someone of the opposite sex. That has never changed. Pathetic, how some people try to paint a different picture to overturn democracy and call it some sort of "tryanny"
Government does not grant rights, it takes them away. We have rights by the virtue of being human. The right to contract (or marry) with whomever I want is no business of the government.
I'm not looking to overturn democracy, rather I'm looking to restore the republic.
"The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind." - Thomas Jefferson
Posted By: Gerhard Gehrmann
Date: 2009-06-04 00:11:12
if "marriage" is a religious institution (as so christians, jews, and muslems claim) then it has no place in a secular state...or republic. If it is a social mechanism/structure that manages committed relationships between individuals (re: property, wealth, death, inheritance, etc) then indeed to deny it to same sex couples is logically unsuportable.
It is possible that "marriage" is not a "right" , like life, liberty, etc, but rather a priveledge granted by society/state/government. If this be the case, then the state again can not play favorites re marriage, especially when the only arguments against same sex marriages are religious ones.
The tyranny of the majority is one thing that has always made suspicious and frightened of democracy. This is of particular concern in societies like ours where people are not informed or educated on issues, and where a large majority still believe in a magical sky being, and his fairy tale books. Unfortunately the masses are either too stupid or ignorant to make a true democracy work.
Democracy in the modern age is driven by "public opinion", this oppinion is rarely educated, informed, or diserning. More often than not it is prejudiced, bigoted, uninformed and ignorant. It gives rise to short term thinking, with the politics of "now" trumping our futures, our wealth, and our health.
This is a very simplistic article, and does not face the issues at hand. Instead, it just dismisses democracy.
Our founders did not solely favor a representative republic. Many of them liked the idea of initiative and referenda very much, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Your writing isn't even logical. School boards are a form of representative government. Yet you're claiming thatthey are using direct democracy to raise taxes?
The threat to our country is not from the people, but from the corporate oligarchy that rules over our government.
Can you provide a quote or some proof that our founder's liked the idea of initiative and referendum? Everything I've read and studied has shown just the opposite. In fact they specifically excluded such a power from the Constitution.
- Jay
"Democracy is the most vile form of government ... democracies have ever been spectacles of turblence and contention... incompatible with personal security or the rights of property" - James Madison
"The majority oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and ... breaks up the foundations of society." - Thomas Jefferson
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. Sell not liberty to purchase power." - Benjamin Franklin
" The biggest danger to our rights today is not from governmetns acting against the will of the majority, but from governmetn which has become the mere instrument of this majority. Think about it. That's where the abuse of power comes from. Not the tyranny of the King, but the tyranny of the majority." - James Madison
"It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure." -- James Madison, Federalist Paper 51
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
