A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
The previous sentence was penned be Alexander F. Tytler, economist and professor at
Edinburgh University, writing around the time the American Constitution was being drafted.
Tytler's observation supposedly was about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000 years earlier.
Why was he writing about a democracy so soon after the United States won the war for independence but had not yet ratified it's own constitution? Was this a coincidence because he was a university professor and this is what he did, write papers, or was he trying to foretell the future of the United States, or for that matter all democracies?
His main thoughts are as follows:
"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 due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From Bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to selfishness;
6. From selfishness to complacency;
7. From complacency to apathy;
8. From apathy to dependence;
9. From dependence back into bondage."
My estimation of the United States today is as follows:
1. 1607 to 1752__Bondage to spiritual faith.
2. 1752 to 1776__Spiritual faith to great courage.
3. 1776 to 1790__Courage to liberty.
4. 1790 to 1966__Liberty to abundance.
5. 1966 to 1982__Abundance to selfishness.
6. 1982 to present__Selfishness to complacency.
Can we stem the tide of electing politicians who will spend us back into bondage? This chapter will be written by our children and grandchildren. Time is running short. Tytler's last three predictions, I feel, are not far off.
Take care,
Bob Snider
