In the article “The Founding Fathers Never Intended to Create a Direct Democracy” by geopolitical forecaster and strategist George Friedman, the issue of the founding of the United States is discussed. According to Friedman, America was never a democracy: it was designed to be a republic that intentionally does not rely on the will of the people.
The Founding Fathers “feared that passions could arouse the public, and national policy could become hostage to these passions” (Friedman). According to Friedman, the founders wanted wealthy men with substance and property to lead the nation as they had “much to lose from error and also are more difficult to corrupt.” However, it is important to note that these elitist members of society are the ones determining the tax codes and public policy ,and they may be drawn to enact laws that help sustain their power.
Friedman’s points on how America is not a direct democracy are no secret. He points to the electoral college as an example of how the founders never intended for the people to directly elect the president. Instead, candidates need to focus on underpopulated states as they tend to be the deciding factors in elections. If the democracy was more direct, the voices of urban areas would be over-amplified, according to Friedman.
I argue that steering towards a more direct democracy would not be detrimental to the health of our nation. If more people live in urban areas, then I believe their voices should be amplified. If every vote was truly equal without the over-arching electoral college, I believe people would have more confidence in our electoral process.
Friedman’s final point is that the Senate, with equal representation from every state, is not meant to serve the people, but the states themselves. The Senate is meant to limit the passions of the people by blocking House legislation. The founders of our government viewed this as essential, as they believed the passions of the people would hurt the power of the most elite members of society.
Not only is our government not a direct democracy for practicality reasons, but it is also not a democracy in an attempt to suppress the American people. From its creation, the United States was set up to work for wealthy, white men. It is not supposed to be supportive of women, religious and racial minorities, and the poor, which makes up the majority of American citizens.
So, is the United States government successful? I would argue that it is. It is successful at achieving its mission—to listen to the elite and suppress the majority. But America is certainly not a democracy.
Read the inspiration for this blog post, posted in HuffPost: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-founding-fathers-never-meant-to- create_b_13051196?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guc e_referrer_sig=AQAAAGrNVbv7BnlD6R0XbMmmkMODx4Rh4VYn870Xz6CwYGmu- _P6BhFy7OokGtNp1mpbv66m5pQ41nLheQhwW3DzJRJDPUp3MMFazK6gx9UANP9myYNb1vic9 4VBNnvQrxsR2fUHxb7HbH5N-vOphl_R8X3SBIHYDNRwFd4hUoKY7q4W
Sofia Rubinson 