Democracy Paper
GOVT 210 – B02
September 16, 2018
Dr. Emily Ferkaluk
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Beginning with the drafting of the Constitution, people have debated the ability and success
of promoting democratic governance. Opposing modern critics argue the American political
system does too little, or too much. Some argue in favor of reducing the separation of powers in
the political structure, to make the government more efficient and effective. Others argue the
government should reevaluate priorities and drastically reduce spending. Debate about
democracy, governance, the methods and manners of their functions, and the nature of their
relationships with the individual and society, can be traced to the ancient political philosophers.
These ancient thinkers and the classical thinkers that followed, profoundly influenced the
development of the American republic as uniquely designed and created by its Framers.
The ancient philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle made vital contributions in the debates
at the Philadelphia Convention. Of the 55 delegates attending the Convention, about 30 regularly
participated in the proceedings[CITATION Wil18 \p 20 \l 1033 ]. Although the speeches of the
delegates, as detailed by Madison, did not explicitly reference quotes or writings of political
philosophers, everyone present was quite familiar with the traditional arguments and generally,
well-informed about history. The debates were heavily influenced by philosophical beliefs. The
delicate problem of how to devise a government strong enough to preserve order and
simultaneously remain no threat to liberty could not be answered in “democracy” as it was then
understood. Many conservatives in the late 18th century understood “democracy” as mob rule.
Plato’s textbook The Republic was the first book where organized structure for society was
planned and directed to achieve an ethical goal. Like Socrates, Plato makes it clear that
democracy is equal to the best regime but is only one step above tyranny. Viewing democracies
as inferior forms of government, Plato regards democracy as a system based on majority rule.
Since all opinions are equal in this system, he views this as unwise considering most citizens are
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untrained and undereducated in the necessary tools for a successful pursuit of justice. Plato
considers the selfish desires of the ordinary man would certainly overwhelm the interests of the
nation-state[CITATION Doo15 \p 84 \l 1033 ]. Plato believed that wisdom was the understanding
of reality and he believed that the revelation of truth must render it impossible to act in conflict
to it [CITATION Rob13 \p 194 \l 1033 ]. The Framers were astutely aware of Plato’s critique that
democracies, left to their own devices, would eventually deteriorate into a “mobocracy.”
Aristotle offered ways of thinking about many different subjects, including ethics and politics,
which were capacious and fluid enough to eventually contain Christian philosophy. He believed
that the first task of any government was to cultivate virtue among the governed and his theory
of mixed constitutions strongly influenced the American Framers. For Aristotle, political systems
were a means toward the ends of justice. Not endorsing any particular system over another, he
believed that monarchy, aristocracy, and polity could all be effective if its leaders pursued justice.
These systems became highly vulnerable if the leaders sought self-interest over the public good.
The Framers learned from Aristotle to reject the notion of allegiance to one particular system of
governance, but rather to culminate the best attributes of the different systems into one.
Classical thinkers and political philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, and Montesquieu heavily
influenced the Framers also. Hobbes had argued that in any society without an absolute, supreme
ruler there would be a “war of all against all” [CITATION Kav83 \p 291 \l 1033 ]. Hobbes
believed all human behavior is motivated by a lust for power. His conclusion that “society would
degenerate into war and that life would become ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’ if people
are left to govern themselves” [CITATION Doo15 \p 111 \l 1033 ]. Like Plato, Hobbes believed
that democracies left to their own devices would inevitably deteriorate into “mobocracies.” He
thought it was necessary to have an all-powerful government to maintain order. Furthermore,
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Hobbes believed that individual freedoms had to be surrendered to the state for the preservation
of security.
Montesquieu, like Aristotle, supported a system of government that combines democratic and
aristocratic standards. He argued that tyranny could be thwarted by having the branches of
government check each other. Warning that tyranny would rule when the power of government is
consolidated into the same branch, Montesquieu advocated for the division of powers to prevent
the domination of one class over another. The brilliance of this political structure of checks and
balances was realized by the Framers when instituting the framework of the new formation of
government.
Locke did not believe it was necessary to have an all-powerful government, nor did he believe
that democracy was impossible. He argued that in a state of nature, all men cherish and seek to
protect their life, liberty and property. However, Locke believed in a state of nature where society
is void of government, the strong can use their liberty to deprive the weak of their own liberty.
He argued against powerful kings and promoted popular dissent. He considered that people could
exist in a state of nature, without any ruler, if they could find enough to eat and a way to protect
themselves. To ensure this, Locke reasoned that a decent government must exist with consent of
the governed and be managed by majority rule. To prevent a majority from harming a minority,
Locke advocated for separation of powers “with different competing legislative and executive
branches” [CITATION Wil18 \p 24 \l 1033 ]. “The instinct for self-preservation leads people to
want a government that will prevent this exploitation” (Ibid., 21). Locke concluded, to prevent
the government from depriving its subjects of their liberty, the government must be limited. He
expanded on this idea by determining that the chief limitation of government should be by
consent of the governed. “People will not agree to be ruled by a government that threatens their
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liberty; therefore, the government to which they choose freely to submit themselves will be a
limited government designed to protect liberty” (Ibid.,20). The Framers defense of liberty as a
natural right originated from the writings of Locke.
To the architects of the Constitution, the representative democracy was based on three major
principles: the separation of powers, the system of checks and balances, and federalism. “The
Constitution of the United States provides the framework of political and legal institutions.
Although they are not explicitly stated in the Constitution, they nevertheless provide theoretical
structure upon which the seven articles of the original document are built” [CITATION
McC00 \p 296 \l 1033 ]. Influenced by the ancient and classic political philosophers, the
Founders relied heavily upon morality derived from “Nature’s God” and the “laws of nature”
when creating the new representative republic. Each armed with their distinct worldviews, the
Constitutional architects had learned major lessons from living under the weak Articles of
Confederation. Understanding that government needed to do more than simply refrain from
tyranny, the Framers constructed a system that formed a uniquely exceptional, prosperous nation.
Certainly, Christians can effectively argue that the failures of democracy are a direct result of
the original fall of mankind. The emphasis on freedom (Ro 6:1-23) equality (Ge 1:27), and
individual dignity as afforded by democracy is compatible and promoted by Christian beliefs as
based on Scripture. “Christians should recognize that civil government is ordained of God.
Government is God’s servant to discipline the disobedient and carry out His righteous will”
[CITATION Hol92 \p 684 \l 1033 ]. It remains the charge of the believer to pay heed to the
words of Scripture and comply with the government as ordained by God.
References
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Dooley, Kevin, and Joseph Patten. Why Politics Matters: An Introdution to Political Science.
2nd. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2015.
Holman Reference. Holman Bible Handbook. Edited by David S. Dockery. Nashville: Holman
Bible Publishers, 1992.
Kavka, Gregory S. "Ethics." Hobbes's War of All Against All 93, no. 2 (January 1983): 291-30.
McCellan, James. Liberty, Order, and Justice. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 2000.
Roberts, J.M., and Odd Arne Westad. The Penguin History of the World. Sixth. London, United
Kingdom: Penguin Books, 2013.
Wilson, James, John Dilulio, Meena Bose, and Matthew Levendusky. American Government
Institutions & Policies, Brief Version. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2018.
