There are many things for which a person could be thankful on this holiday. Since this story is published by an organization that works in public policy, it’s appropriate to recognize a treasure that makes healthy public policy and governance possible.
Given the material abundance of this country, it would be easy to give thanks for prosperity. But something else is even more valuable: liberal democracy, which is a way of organizing government and human interactions in the public sphere. Through it, we live in peace and strive for the good as we understand it.
“Liberal” in this context doesn’t mean progressivism, or large government. Think instead of its older meaning: the rule of law, individual rights and checks on the majority.
“Democracy” means that the authority to rule lies with the people, not with the strongest individuals or clan, or those with the right ancestry. “Liberal democracy” means we put limits on what even a majority of voters can do.
Liberalism offers us a way to peacefully create and live by the rules a nation or society needs. When people interact with each other, they need rules to settle disputes, help make decisions and make life more predictable. Families, social clubs, religious communities, businesses, cities, states and nations all need rules.
Some rules are unspoken and develop over time. Other develop through formal, predictable steps. Legislators consider bills and they negotiate with governors or presidents. Judges develop case law, settling some disputes in ways that have implications for other disputes until legislators and governors or presidents step in. Laws developed by legislators often needs to be fleshed out, so bureaucracies effectively create law when they develop regulations grounded in those laws.
A healthy rule of law means that laws are clearly understandable, don’t change willy-nilly every few years, and apply equally to all relevant individuals. There’s a process.
A healthy rule of law establishes a peaceful way of transferring power from some officials to others. In much of human history, rulers come into (and leave) power through violence, whether assassination or invasion. By contrast, the American experiment with the rule of law has been marked by elections (held even during war), with losing candidates accepting the results. That’s something else to be grateful for this season.
A small group of people (politicians, bureaucrats, judges) are required to make the rule of law work out. Procedures, rights and norms attempt to restrain what these people do — sometimes prohibiting them from doing what most people would want them to do. Without rights, a bare majority of the people could vote to exterminate an ethnic, religious, political or other minority.
American history has not always recognized certain rights. We had more than two centuries of race-based slavery in this country and almost 100 years of Jim Crow apartheid-style laws. We’ve also had ethnic bigotry, lynchings, killings based on religious affiliation, and other practices we rightly find morally offensive today.
But the story does not end there. The U.S. has, thankfully, worked toward living up to the idealistic language of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, two documents steeped in liberalism and democracy.
Abraham Lincoln drew on the promise of the declaration when he delivered the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address. Martin Luther King Jr. did the same when he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Both men saw great promise in the American ideal.
It’s important that leaders and citizens alike value liberalism and the restraints it puts on government power, even when we might use that power to our advantage. Liberal democracy is our national strength, providing a just and predictable environment for social and economic activity.
There are some dark clouds on the horizon. An alarming number of people believe that violence is sometimes needed to achieve their desired political results, according to the Pew Research Center.
As we use this day to enjoy ourselves and take stock of the blessings we have, let’s recommit ourselves to the rights and dignity of all under the law, valuing the institutions and practices that make 21st America a special time and place to be alive.
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Be thankful for liberal democracy
Majority rule is important, but it needs limits
There are many things for which a person could be thankful on this holiday. Since this story is published by an organization that works in public policy, it’s appropriate to recognize a treasure that makes healthy public policy and governance possible.
Given the material abundance of this country, it would be easy to give thanks for prosperity. But something else is even more valuable: liberal democracy, which is a way of organizing government and human interactions in the public sphere. Through it, we live in peace and strive for the good as we understand it.
“Liberal” in this context doesn’t mean progressivism, or large government. Think instead of its older meaning: the rule of law, individual rights and checks on the majority.
“Democracy” means that the authority to rule lies with the people, not with the strongest individuals or clan, or those with the right ancestry. “Liberal democracy” means we put limits on what even a majority of voters can do.
Liberalism offers us a way to peacefully create and live by the rules a nation or society needs. When people interact with each other, they need rules to settle disputes, help make decisions and make life more predictable. Families, social clubs, religious communities, businesses, cities, states and nations all need rules.
Some rules are unspoken and develop over time. Other develop through formal, predictable steps. Legislators consider bills and they negotiate with governors or presidents. Judges develop case law, settling some disputes in ways that have implications for other disputes until legislators and governors or presidents step in. Laws developed by legislators often needs to be fleshed out, so bureaucracies effectively create law when they develop regulations grounded in those laws.
A healthy rule of law means that laws are clearly understandable, don’t change willy-nilly every few years, and apply equally to all relevant individuals. There’s a process.
A healthy rule of law establishes a peaceful way of transferring power from some officials to others. In much of human history, rulers come into (and leave) power through violence, whether assassination or invasion. By contrast, the American experiment with the rule of law has been marked by elections (held even during war), with losing candidates accepting the results. That’s something else to be grateful for this season.
A small group of people (politicians, bureaucrats, judges) are required to make the rule of law work out. Procedures, rights and norms attempt to restrain what these people do — sometimes prohibiting them from doing what most people would want them to do. Without rights, a bare majority of the people could vote to exterminate an ethnic, religious, political or other minority.
American history has not always recognized certain rights. We had more than two centuries of race-based slavery in this country and almost 100 years of Jim Crow apartheid-style laws. We’ve also had ethnic bigotry, lynchings, killings based on religious affiliation, and other practices we rightly find morally offensive today.
But the story does not end there. The U.S. has, thankfully, worked toward living up to the idealistic language of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, two documents steeped in liberalism and democracy.
Abraham Lincoln drew on the promise of the declaration when he delivered the Gettysburg Address and his second inaugural address. Martin Luther King Jr. did the same when he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Both men saw great promise in the American ideal.
It’s important that leaders and citizens alike value liberalism and the restraints it puts on government power, even when we might use that power to our advantage. Liberal democracy is our national strength, providing a just and predictable environment for social and economic activity.
There are some dark clouds on the horizon. An alarming number of people believe that violence is sometimes needed to achieve their desired political results, according to the Pew Research Center.
As we use this day to enjoy ourselves and take stock of the blessings we have, let’s recommit ourselves to the rights and dignity of all under the law, valuing the institutions and practices that make 21st America a special time and place to be alive.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.