A Tale of Two Governments

This isn't likely a groundbreaking concept here for most of you. It bears some attention, though.

There used to be two views of democracy in America, each with a loyal following and articulate advocates. The first group believed that government was a necessary evil. Jefferson summed it up best--the government that governs least, governs best. Personal liberty was the most precious gift that we were endowed with. The only purpose of government was to make sure nobody could make you bow before them or tell you what you could do with your property.

This view of democracy now dominates the marketplace of ideas. While there are still many opponents of the concept, you're more likely to hear a tepid protest against it than an eloquent and impassioned advocacy of the alternative. Shame on us all. One set of extremists now dominates the agenda, and moderates and progressives and liberals can't find their voices.

And so we miss out on the important contribution of the alternative view. This view states that liberty is not sufficient to make us free citizens. No matter how much we'd like to believe that we can live a self-sufficient existence, we reside in communities and we have to live and work and trade with others. This creates opportunities for injustice and exploitation, and that affects our ability to take advantage of that cherished personal liberty. So in this conception, we have an obligation to our fellow members of the community.

But before you start moaning about how hard it is to help your fellow citizens, understand that living in communities isn't all that bad. This communitarian view of democracy also points out that we don't live under a government--we are the government. While our power as individuals may be relatively small, we're not simply at the mercy of others. We can be agents of our own benevolence. On our own, we face the temptation to dump toxins in the water, steal from strangers, neglect the value of other human beings. Together, we can make the compromises necessary to protect the freedoms from want and fear and repression that infuse personal liberty with its value. That takes government. That takes effort on our part.

Losing this perspective makes our "marketplace of ideas" a little more like a Wal-Mart, full of undifferentiated, mass-produced, cheap crap.