I am no advocate of totalitarianism. In fact, far from it. I am a conservative who skirts the edge of Libertarianism. But I would have to say that Democracy is the Enemy of Freedom. Since my long lost college days, I have been aware of the tendency of total democracy to be converted by demagogues into a tyrannical state. This is a hard and fast rule of history that is immutable as any law of physics.

All this was brought current to me by Michael E. Newton’s book Path to Tyranny. (You can find out more about it at ThePathToTyranny.com) It should be stressed that we do not live in a democracy. The American government was originally set up as a republic. The founding fathers in their study of the ancients and Montesquieu knew that the best way to protect freedom was to have a balanced government that took into account the interests of all elements of society. When any one segment of society gains control of government it becomes corrupted by the power. There are few exceptions to this whether it be a dictator, an oligarchy, or the people themselves.

With the ”masses” in power, they will inevitably try to take advantage of the situation and vote themselves benefits…benefits which the government will ultimately find impossible to sustain. There are also demagogues who will wish to take advantage of this situation. They will use the people to put themselves in positions of power. This will ultimately do the people no good because the power politicians attain will be used for their own personal advancement. Ultimately, the tyranny put in place will simply accrete power to itself and to secure its position limit freedoms of speech, assembly, and especially property.

The trend in our country has been more and more toward pure democracy. It has become perilously close partly due the influence of polls in governmental decision-making (not to mention that polls are so easy to manipulate by those who know how). A hundred years ago we allowed the people to elect the Senate. As time went on we allowed more and more government interference in the use of property and made exceptions to the rule of law. Our freedoms have slowly been eroding even as the federal government has grown in the guise of providing for the “people”.

This trend must be stopped. Down with Democracy, Up with Republicanism.

Call me a radical if you will!

You can read my review of Michael Newton’s Path to Tyranny.