The Profit Prophet

We have all heard the common talking point from the left that conservatives, and most specifically Trump, are destroying democracy. The response to this claim is the same time and time again: “We are not a democracy, we are a constitutional republic!”   You should have learned that in 8th grade civics class. Still, this begs an important question: Are there any differences between the two, and if so, why do they matter? The answer is simple: There are profound differences between a democracy and a constitutional republic that are crucial to every aspect of American life. These three quotes from the Founding Fathers remind us to defend our constitutional republic with all our might. Alexander Hamilton stated , “ Real liberty is neither found in despotism or the extremes of democracy, but in moderate governments.” Hamilton recognized the first of three harms of a real democracy . Democracy excludes the minority’s rights . It reminds me of the classic saying, “Democracy i...

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” - Alex De Tocqueville

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinborough, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship." "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From li...