I believe that Rousseau's view that "each person [should] willingly surrender some of his natural liberty to the community of the whole in order to gain protection and security" should be just one of the possible social contracts. Another possibility would be to for people to give up all of their natural liberty in order to be part of a powerful society. .
The great myth of our time is the collective American myth that democracy is the ultimate principle and most important philosophy of a free people. I disagree. Democracy is good only as far as it empowers individualism. A simple rule of the majority is not a sufficient safeguard of individual liberty. Democracy has succeeded as a form of government because it is, in the hands of an intelligent and civic-minded people.
As a nation, we are rich enough to be able to provide many services and benefits, and to make sure that they are available to all. But this concentrates power in the hands of the few. And history is full of civilizations brought low by this concentration of power. .
We need to ensure that we remain a cheerfully participatory democracy, at all levels of government. We need to keep as much power as close to the people as possible. Local elections provide individuals with a much greater say in their government than do state elections, while state elections themselves are more truly democratic than federal elections. .
It was this, that has historically made the United States such a powerful example of democracy. Many nations elect presidents and national parliaments. But we elect school boards and judges, city councils and county sheriffs. This means that, in all likelihood, you know the people you are voting for, as neighbors and as friends, or quite possibly, you are running yourself. .
What's wrong with our political parties? Lots. All of our political parties, whether from incompetence or from obedience to their corporate paymasters, stand for ideas and promote policies which are destructive to the civic life of our nation.
