Are We Failing the Twin Commitments of Democracy?

Democracy isn’t just a form of government. It’s the commitment to two entwined ideas—the powerful obey the rules, and the powerless can hold them to account.

Many people claim American democracy is in decline, and that should shock you. Democracy is America’s most sacred value. This was the world’s first modern democratic republic, founded in a rebellion against a tyrant king. Without our national commitment to democracy, what is America?

As far back as America has existed, Americans have cherished their democracy. From our republic’s beginning, we’ve been quick to call out tyrants and chase them from public life. We viewed America as the living embodiment of the statue in New York Harbor holding liberty’s torch aloft—a beacon of democracy and freedom. However, the Romans once prized their republic too. Then they got complacent, turned their backs on republican tradition, and transformed a once-great nation into a corrupt and decaying empire ruled by thugs.

Could America abandon its commitment to democracy as well?

How you feel about that question depends on what you think democracy means. Is democracy a formal system of government with elections, presidents, and legislatures? Or is it a commitment to two ideals—the powerful must obey the rules, and the powerless must hold them to account.

THE TRUE MEANING OF A DEMOCRACY

I’ve never worried about American democracy because I’ve read too much history. Every era in America had its outrages. America’s Founders passed the horrific Alien and Sedition Acts. The Jacksonian era raised genuine authoritarian concerns. There was backsliding on civil liberties leading into and through the Civil War. There was rampant Gilded Age corruption. There were disgraceful assaults on dissent during the First World War. There was Sacco and Vanzetti, the Bonus March, and the Business Plot. There was Japanese Internment, and the Un-American Activities Committee. Whatever momentary insanity America fell into, our commitment to democracy was always too deeply rooted to ever allow tyrannical ideas to take hold.

What is different now? Understanding that starts with understanding what it means to honor democracy.

Democracy is much more than a system of government. Many authoritarian societies have congresses or parliaments. Many dictators call themselves presidents and stand for re-election every few years. Vladimir Putin is duly elected, and he serves with a parliament of elected deputies. His Russia has judges and officials and institutions and laws, all packaged into a constitutional system it meticulously obeys in form. He’s even legitimately popular. Despite following all the legal forms of democracy, everyone knows modern Russia isn’t truly democratic.

There isn’t even an agreed form for a democracy. There are capitalist democracies, and collectivist democracies. There are multiparty democracies and two-party democracies. There are federal systems with overlapping sovereigns, and democracies with strong central states. There are democracies with strong executives, and with weak ones. There are democracies with more economic equality, and class-based socially-stratified ones. Democracies can be religious, or entirely secular. Democracy also isn’t just about following the people’s will. You can govern well, create growth, and leave ordinary citizens alone, and not be a democracy. Many populist dictators across history were elected fairly, wildly popular, and aspired to enact the will of citizens. They were not, however, real democracies.

You can elect representatives, pass laws, and have supreme courts bless them. You can ensure every law and rule is appropriately promulgated and rubber stamped by the correct authority. You can check every box, follow all the formal rules and processes, and still not have an actual democracy. What makes a nation a true democracy is fulfilling two commitments.

The powerful must obey the rules. The powerless have the means to hold them to account.

A common complaint over the last two decades is that those in charge no longer follow rules, and the people have limited means to force them. That is why American democracy is in question. Partisans from both parties agree for different reasons that America isn’t honoring it’s core democratic commitments. Most alarming, they both have a point.

WHO ABANDONED DEMOCRACY?

What’s interesting and frustrating is both the left and right believe they’re defending democracy. The left believes it’s fighting a fascist and authoritarian new right movement that doesn’t even pretend to follow democratic rules. The right believes the left has given up on democratic accountability, allowing a cabal of elites and professionals, a “deep state,” to rule without accountability in league with major institutions and bureaucracies they control. Both sides believe they’re the good guys defending America’s sacred value of democracy. Naturally, they’re both tearing each other apart, and America, their battlefield, is getting ripped up in the process.

Both of them have something of a point.

The left believes it honors democracy by following the formal rules. Modern Democrats represent the professional class that run most major institutions, and they see authority as flowing from credentials, domain knowledge, and institutional affiliation, rather than from democratic consent. Since the left mostly acts through proper institutional structures—holding elections, adhering to published processes, obeying court orders, and following the letter of the law—it believes its decisions honor democracy. Democratic accountability, however goes beyond mere process. It means honoring unwritten rules as well, like following the public will and subjecting yourself to democratic discipline.

Real democracy requires telling the electorate your intentions before you act, winning a mandate, and then sticking with it. It requires acting with full transparency, so the people can determine whether you’re ruling as they directed. It requires wielding your discretion fairly, instead of applying one standard to friends while using government to punish enemies. In true democracy, officials don’t hide actions deep in government, impose unwarranted secrecy, or lie to the public. They don’t use clever maneuvers that, while technically legal, get around the formal rules—like applying public power to intimidate private actors to do what government directly cannot. Most important, they don’t use government to shape public opinion, because that turns democracy upon itself. The government is meant to obey the people, not trick the people into supporting what officials want.

To be democratically accountable, you must apply the law equally against friends and allies. You can’t siphon funds, give special favors, or steal, even if when the institutions you control formally sign off on the siphoning and stealing. You must be responsive to what the people want, and govern for the benefit of everyone—opponents as well as friends. You can’t abuse your position to gain power, status, or wealth. Most important, when friends and allies break these rules, you must punish them without favor, instead of covering their tracks. If you don’t keep these unwritten rules—the spirit of democracy—you’re not really democratic, even if you obey all the procedures and forms.

Has the American establishment honored these principles? The rebellion that dominates the modern right doesn’t think so. It believes officials keep the procedures of democracy without its heart—the transparency and democratic control. They think those who run things see themselves as elected kings, ruling as they wish without regard to what the people say or want. They think government lies and manipulates and steals to control the people for its benefit, instead of serving them. They think those in control treat citizens like subjects, or even cattle, ruling over them as they please. They believe these would-be rulers think, because they bear the correct credentials, they know what’s best and moral, whatever the masses through their democracy claim to want. Even if blessed by duly-enacted processes, that isn’t democracy.

On the other hand, the rebellion of the modern right makes no pretense to following rules at all. As populists, they don’t believe authority comes from climbing ladders or institutional roles, but from the direct blessings of the people. To the right, formal rules are merely obstacles to fixing the real problem—the left’s unaccountable control. The right argues that strict adherence to rules prevents genuine democratic change, which can only be achieved through action that bypasses traditional political structures. The left views this idea as fascist, but the right believes it’s giving the people for the first time a way to hold the powerful to account.

Whichever side you’re on, the powerful do not feel bound to follow all the rules whether formally or in spirit, while the powerless have little means to force them to obey. Everyone thinks they’re defending democracy, but no one is truly keeping their democratic commitments. This broken promise of democracy lies behind much of the chaos engulfing politics. Fixing the chaos therefore must begin by addressing this valid claim. Whatever your specific policies for governing, none of it matter unless your can meet America’s first hurdle by promising to honor the ideals of democracy—both its formal and spiritual requirements. A party that fails to address this issue has no chance of prevailing in politics long term.

The good news is that, since we’re having this fight at all, it means we Americans still believe deeply in democracy. We haven’t turned our backs on America’s sacred value. Perhaps we’re more committed than we’ve ever been. We’re just having a troubling disagreement about what democracy requires—a test both sides are failing. This must become the chief focus of any lasting reform.

RECOMMITTING TO OUR DEMOCRACY

Much effort at the moment is going into reorienting and reforming America’s government, politics, and political parties. People recognize we’re at a moment of change. They’re starting to think seriously about where we’ve failed, and how to get back on track. This isn’t simply to help win elections. It’s also to end this era of turmoil, restore prosperity, and put America back on top. What most people are missing, however, is no agenda can work unless it begins by addressing this key failure that’s the true source of all America’s troubles—America’s sacred commitment to democracy.

If I were rebuilding America’s parties, or creating a new one, the first thing I would have them do is reaffirm their commitment to the spirit of American democracy. Before I talked about immigration, the economy, AI, or China, I would start by reaffirming a commitment to address the real source of our troubles—the failure to respect the democratic spirit of our country. The problem with all the current trendy efforts at reform is, instead of addressing the true source of our national discontent, they skip it and start instead at step two. Before I hear any policy ideas about how you’re going to govern, I need to hear you say out loud : The powerful must follow the rules. The people must have to power to hold them to account. That must be the centerpiece of your agenda, and every other detail of your plans must be subservient to this first principle.

I don’t believe Americans are losing faith in democracy. I think Americans across the spectrum of politics desperately want American to honor its democratic ideals. After years of prosperity and stability, however, too many have forgotten what democracy requires. Too many well-educated and well-credentialed people across our leadership class, who believe they’re committed to restoring democracy, have through their actions helped to break it through carelessness and ignorance. If you want to restore stability and start to reform America, you must start here, or else everything else you intend to accomplish ultimately will fail. Whoever does this first will win America’s future.

The key to winning back America lies in a simple formula: The powerful must follow the rules, and the people must have the power to hold them to account.

What do you think about the health of American democracy? Join the conversation in the comments.