Dangers of Democracy Part 2.
by Thinking West
To continue the damage done by Democrats I will continue to try
to shoe you Part 2, that takes us through several more Dangers to
our Republic by those who are working for themselves not their
citizens.
3.) Democracies Incur Great Opportunity Costs
Another drawback of modern democracy is the immense opportunity
cost incurred by political campaigns. Time, money, energy, and at-
tention are all consumed by political parties vying to ensure that
their candidate is elected. Dozens, hundreds, and sometimes even
thousands of people are employed for hours, days, and weeks to as-
sist with a campaign on behalf of a candidate. And consider the fact
that in a two-party system, one of these parties’ efforts will ef-
fectively be for nothing if it loses. Not only are political cam-
paigns expensive, but they are also getting increasingly MORE ex-
pensive. In 2016 the total cost for presidential and congressional
races was $7 billion. By 2020 that number doubled to more than
$14.4 billion.
Let’s consider what alternative investments could be made with
$14.4 billion. For $400,000 each, $14.4 billion could buy 36,000
homes. Researchers from 23 countries suggest that $14 billion is the
additional expenditure needed each year to eradicate world hunger by
2030. The National Cancer Institute estimates that the average cost
of first-year cancer treatment is $42,000 4. At this price tag, $14
billion is enough to purchase a year’s worth of cancer treatment for
over 330,000 people. Clearly, the extraordinary sums of money spent
on political campaigns could be used for a variety of beneficial en-
deavors. These endeavors could have lasting, meaningful effects on
the lives of countless people.
In addition to the monetary cost of campaigning, political in-
volvement incurs a devastating mental toll on losers of election
races. Regarding the 2016 presidential election, analysis suggests
that in states that voted for Hillary Clinton in November 2016,
there were a total of 54.6 million more days of poor mental health
than in October 2016 5. Poor mental health leads to lower quality of
life and lower productivity. Though poor mental health isn’t exclu-
sive to democracies, it is a heavy opportunity cause to risk the
mental health of half the country each election cycle. This problem
is particularly strong in winner-take-all elections as in presi-
dential races.
Another significant cost in democracies is the time and energy
the politicians spent on campaigning and fundraising for the next
election cycle. Not only must politicians work to enact new legis-
lation, but they must also devote considerable resources to ensur
ing they maintain popular public opinion and are prepared finan-
cially for their upcoming reelection campaign. This diverts time,
energy, and attention from passing legislation to lobbying voters
and campaign donors. According to Rep. Rick Nolan in “60 Minutes”
expose from CBS, members of Congress are encouraged to spend thirty
hours per week in call centers for their respective parties asking
for donations:
Rep. Rick Nolan: “Thirty hours is what they tell you you should
spend. And it’s discouraging good people from running for public
office. I could give you names of people who’ve said, “You know,
I’d like to go to Washington and help fix problems, but I don’t want
to go to Washington and become a mid-level telemarketer, dialing for
dollars, for crying out loud.”
Interviewer: “You’re saying members of Congress are becoming
like telemarketers?”
Rep. Rick Nolan: “Well, 30 hours a week, that’s a lot of tele-
marketing. Probably more than most telemarketers do.”
This emphasis on fundraising also results in fewer good people
running for office according to Nolan – another opportunity cost
of the current democratic process.
While political engagement is necessary for a functioning
democracy, this engagement can incur a heavy cost on the people it
purportedly serves. Current democracies risk turning politics into
an industry unto itself. When the democratic process becomes an in-
dustry unto itself, it ceases to act on behalf of the people and
instead serves the political actors.
4) Democracy is Expensive and Politicians Push Costs to Future
Generations
The fourth flaw of democracy is the tendency for democracies
to become more expensive over time as citizens vote for additional
benefits from the government. Once a benefit is provided to citi-
zens they will rarely vote to remove this benefit, especially when
it is financed through tax dollars. This is particularly true when
the benefit has been provided for several generations. Over time,
this leads wealthy societies to become more dependent on the gov-
ernment to provide for the citizenry. Alexander Fraser Tytler, an
influential professor of universal history in the 18th century and
an expert on the rise and fall of civilizations summarized this
tendency:
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote
themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on,
the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most
benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy
always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a
dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations
has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this
sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to
great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From
apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
-Alexander Fraser Tytler
Tytler suggests that civilizations emerge out of hardship
through great faith and courage. This struggle ultimately leads to
liberty and abundance in which citizens are largely free to act as
they see fit. But while desirable in their own right, liberty and
abundance lead to selfishness and apathy when not tempered by
discipline. Finally, when in a state of material wealth, a civili-
zation returns to a state of dependence in which the citizenry
chooses welfare and handouts over personal responsibility. This
allows tyrants to exploit complacent citizens through false pro-
mises which leads to the final stage, the stage that defines most
of human political history: bondage. Aristotle formulates Tytler’s
cycle succinctly:
“Inevitably, masculine republics give way to feminine demo-
cracies, and feminine democracies invariably give way to tyranny.”
-Aristotle
And the prolific historian Will Durant summarized this
phenomenon even more simply:
“A civilization is born Stoic and dies Epicurean.”
-Will Durant
This trend toward dependence is evident in the amount of debt
a democratic nation accrues. Consider that nine of the ten most in-
debted nations are considered democracies by the World Population
Review 8,9. Only the tiny Asian nation of Bhutan (considered a
“hybrid regime”) is not considered either a flawed or full demo-
cracy. The graph below demonstrates that democracies are particu-
larly prone to spending beyond their means. Debt is money borrowed
from future generations to pay for the expenses of the current gen-
eration. By voting themselves benefit after benefit, citizens vote
themselves into being financial liabilities. These liabilities are
expected to be paid for by future generations, creating an unsus-
tainable financial trajectory. As we have seen from Tytler’s cycle
of civilizations, this unstable financial path can then be
exploited by opportunists willing to bribe citizens with additional
benefits in exchange for their freedom. This results in a reduction
of liberty and prosperity in society.
The politicians who make grand promises to their constituents
rarely pay the cost incurred by said promises. Instead, future gen-
erations foot the bill for policies that were often passed simply
to gain temporary public approval. Sly politicians prey upon the
shortsightedness and emotionality of voting citizens, ultimately
buying votes with hard-earned capital from future generations.
*Conclusion
In conclusion, democracies come with flaws like all forms of
government. Democracy’s tendency to reflect the vices of their citi-
zenry and pit citizens against each other means that democratic
nations should focus on the education and ethics of their populaces.
Consequently, their voters can make informed and moral choices when
selecting elected leaders. The high opportunity cost of political
campaigns and the propensity for democracies to accrue large amounts
of debt is also a serious flaw in democratic governments. Laws that
limit campaign contributions and government spending constraints
could mitigate these issues, though this is easier said than done.
Voters and representatives alike will need to be cognizant of future
generations when considering any increase in government benefits.
Overall, no form of government is perfect. It can be trendy to
ridicule democratic government given the current state of the
western world. However, let us refrain from unreflective and reck-
less criticism. Perhaps Winston Churchill’s wise assessment of the
system is most appropriate:
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the
others.”
-Winston Churchill
We must pray for our land and press hard to Make America Great
Again.
Conservatively,
John
Conservativelyjohn.com 