I've noticed that many people here, regardless of political affiliation, tend to see the principle of limited government as standing in opposition to democracy. Advocates of democracy tend to see constitutional limits on federal and state power as impediments to be overcome or evaded, whereas detractors of democracy see them bulwarks keeping "the ignorant masses" at bay.
I don't think either of these characterizations is accurate. I actually see limited government as a foundation of democracy and a crucial element of any stable democracy. Perhaps counter-intuitively, dependable, predictable limitations on government power make democracy sustainable in much the same what that the rule of law makes freedom possible.
Without limits on democratic power, the minority has everything to lose and can never voluntarily submit to the authority of those they disagree with. And I think that's what we're seeing now in US politics. As constitutional limitations, via the efforts of ambitions leaders and incompetent courts, have been stripped away, democracy becomes less and less tenable. The electorate is becoming ever more bitterly divided and ever more resentful of sharing power with an opposition.
I don't think either of these characterizations is accurate. I actually see limited government as a foundation of democracy and a crucial element of any stable democracy. Perhaps counter-intuitively, dependable, predictable limitations on government power make democracy sustainable in much the same what that the rule of law makes freedom possible.
Without limits on democratic power, the minority has everything to lose and can never voluntarily submit to the authority of those they disagree with. And I think that's what we're seeing now in US politics. As constitutional limitations, via the efforts of ambitions leaders and incompetent courts, have been stripped away, democracy becomes less and less tenable. The electorate is becoming ever more bitterly divided and ever more resentful of sharing power with an opposition.