The Minority, Governing

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, it is well known, was never intended by its founders to be be a direct democracy, nor, for that matter, a representative democracy, a republic, although that's what Benjamin Franklin called it. It was intended by its wealthy land owning white male progenitors to be precisely what it has always been and still reamins: a plutocratic oligarchy, governed by an elite class of wealthy, land owning men. James Madison made this clear when he asserted that there were two classes of people in America; the "better sort", meaning men such as himself, and the "lesser sort", meaning the other ninety nine percent. George Washington was elected president by six perecnt of the population, those who were allowed to vote; the elite wealthy minority would represent the interests of the lesser sort majority; the lesser sort; the urban and rural poor, women, people of color, enslaved people, people who had neither wealth nor land. Majority rule would effectively be instituted, but only with the permission of the governing elite. Within five years of September 17, 1787, Madison realized that he and his fellow founders had made a grave error, that the wealthy elite white men in whose hands the government was placed would indeed do no such thing, and would only look after their own interests, to the exclusion of all others. He regretted the constitution he had largely composed. Jefferson had been right after all; in order to establish a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, intended to secure the blessings of life, liberty, and happiness for all Americans, a contitution which actually did this directly would be necessary. But, alas, by then it was too late... Jefferson also famously opined that a revolution would be necessary every generation, to install a new constitution, about every twenty years, appropriate to the changing times. Jefferson said that no people should be governed by their ancestors. He, like Madison, would doubtless be horified that we in the year twenty twenty four are still using the document of 1787. They both knew full well that their constitution was far from perfect, a very flawed document, despite the fact that our modern conservative plutocrats ludicrously claim that it is perfect, and ordained by Almighty God...Fast forward to today, and we see that democracy in America has been greatly expanded. The USA is now a more democratic nation than ever before, after decades of struggle by poor, previously unenfranchised folks. And yet, all is not well in freedom's land. The forces of tyranny, of plutocratic governance, never really went away, and are in fact rearing their ugly heads more powerfully now that at any time since the constitution of 1787, our beloved, ostensibly enlightened document which we still use today. The Republican party is the instrument of their authoritarian aspirations. A fascinating new book by Ari Berman, "Minority Rule: The Right Wing Attack on Democracy - and the Fight To Resist it", brilliantly connects the anti-democratic tendencies of America's founders with the current authoritarian tendencies of the Republican party in the era of Trump. The founders accomplished their objectives by installing an upper legislative body, the Senate, with equal representation among all states, large urban, and diverse, and small, rural, and conservative. Thus the white wealthy minority gained disproportionate representation. Madison wanted a Senate allocated by population, like the House of representatives, but the small states, led by Delaware, threatened to leave the union and to seek admission to some European nation or other unless they, as well as Virginia and Massachussets, were given two United States Senators, chosen of course by state legislators, rather than the people at large. The blackmail worked, as they say, like a charm. Thus the small states gained, and retain to this day, disproportionate representation. The electoral college was intended as yet another defense bulwark against actual rule by the people, actual democracy. Todays' anti-democratic efforts consist in attempts at voter suppression, jerrymandering, which is much more a tactic of the Republican than the Democratic party, and unlimited dark money infused into the electoral system. Today's version of our land owning "better sort" overlords is the billionaire class. Our modern "corporate masters", as Gore Vidal called them, govern us with only their own best interests at heart every bit as much as Madison's land owning "better sort". This is done through both major parties, but especially, by the Republians, the conservatives, the spearhead of the current trend towards authoritarian, undemocratic rule. Ari Berman explains all this, and offers a few cogent suggestions on how we the lesser sort can fight back for democracy, assuming our willingness and desire to do so.