On Democracy
Democracy has one function, and it’s under threat.
Over the past few years, this blog has focused on security, technology and science. As we approach the 2024 US Election, I’m going to be talking about some principles that I think are crucial for the future of our country. I’m going to start with democracy. This is a topic I’ve touched on for more than a decade, including: Chaos and Legitimacy, On Legitimacy, and On Legitimacy (After the Election).
The only thing democracy is any good at is the peaceful transfer of legitimacy. Note that I now say “legitimacy,” not “power.” Power follows legitimacy. What democracy does is give us a way to change the idiots at the top — without resorting to violence.
Just what an innovation this represents this is is captured in a line in the Hamilton musical, where King George sings “Stepping down? I wasn’t aware that was something a person could do.”
The peaceful transfer of legitimacy is incredibly valuable. And we’ve come to take it for granted in much of the developed world. You might say the developed world is developed is (in part) because we don’t burn it down with civil wars when the folks in charge become too comfortable, too self-dealing, or too disconnected.
Democracy has many flaws. Churchill famously called it the worst system of government, save for all those others that have been tried. Tony Blair is reputed to have said “Have you met the average voter?” Democracy leads to compromises that no one would chose, rather than systems that someone* designs to solve some problem. The choices make sense because they get people re-elected, and that’s a very bad way to run a society. (Which someone that is, and what they might prioritize is an important questions I’m going to leave aside.)
But we don’t burn everything down on a regular basis.
And that brings me to today. We have a candidate for the Presidency of the United States who doesn’t understand the importance of the peaceful transfer of legitimacy.
After the last election, despite the election being called by every outside observer, despite his own staff telling him that he lost, despite losing every court case filed (and many of his lawyers losing their law licenses as a result of how wildly inappropriate it was to file those cases), he encouraged the looting of the Capitol on January 6.
For the last four years, he has done everything he can to undercut the legitimate transfer of power. A great many people, not only across the political spectrum, but people who served in his administration, have stated that they will vote against him for this reason. His own Vice President, Mike Pence, has stated that he won’t be voting for Trump.
If you agree with all of his positions, your goal in a democracy is to get your fellow citizens to vote with you for those positions, so those who lose see that their positions are less popular, and that your positions gain legitimacy.
Image: The election of 1860, as imagined by Midjourney.