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October 28, 2004
Are Liberty and Democracy Equivalent?
Earlier this week Cox & Forkum published this cartoon:
The cartoon was a reaction to Bush's response to a question on what would happen if Iraqi elections produced a fundamentalist Islamic government. As Bush was quoted:
"I will be disappointed. But democracy is democracy," Bush said. "If that's what the people choose, that's what the people choose."
What's disturbing about this quote is that it leaves the impression that Bush is unaware of what makes this country great. It's not simply that we practice democracy, it lies in the fact that we are republic based on a constitution that enshrines individual rights. This is a point that is lost in much of today's political debate, but is captured in the editorial cartoon superbly. Democracy is not an end and of itself, it must be limited by laws that protect the individual from the majority vote. Friedrich Hayek highlighted this issue in his classic The Constitution of Liberty:
"The dogmatic democrat feels, in particular, that any current majority ought to have the right to decide what powers it has and how to exercise them, while the liberal regards it as important that the powers of any temporary majority be limited by long-term principles."
Bush has stated that he views the job of the U.S. should be to "spread freedom". If he envisions leaving Iraq in the hands of a simple majority rule he is not even living up to his own debatable standard. Without a proper constitution, whose to say that Iraq won't vote in a regime that is even more hostile to the U.S. than that of Saddam and his Bathist party? I agree with the President that people across this globe want to be free, but there is a serious debate in how to best accomplish this noble goal. If his version of freedom is democracies that are not limited by a respect for the individual's right to his or her own life, it won't make this world a safer place.
Update: After writing this I found Bush's full quote and to his credit he does mention the word "constitution". Still though, the post above remains valid.
BUSH: I will be disappointed, but democracy is democracy. They have now got a - the beginnings of a constitution, the TAL, which sends a different message, that there will be tolerance and an open society. But people - if that's what the people choose, that's what the people choose.
Posted by Peter Mork at October 28, 2004 11:47 PM
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