It is important to remember, however, that America is a product of the Enlightenment. Madison, Jay, Hamilton, and Washington were all (some more, some less) men of their times. The Enlightenment was a philosophical period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, characterized by belief in the power of human reason and the perfectibility of mankind. There are several ideas that were emphasized during the Enlightenment but the primary ones are – all humans are by nature rational and inherently good and the idea of progress and whatever is new is intrinsically better than anything that has existed before. Also, a strong anti-authoritarianism existed among Enlightenment thinkers and custom, tradition, and especially religion have little value due to their irrational and superstitious nature. Some of the founders of America had a strong sense that America would be a source of progress and enlightenment to the rest of the world. Progress and democracy were now the rulers of a new world and provided the best hope for the world – the days of kings, lords, and nobles were clearly seen as over. Even Abraham Lincoln said that America “was the last best hope of mankind.” America would eventually see the rise of the Progressive Party.¹ However, the twentieth century saw the disintegration of Enlightenment and Modernist ideas with the advent of two world wars. Progress seemed to be incredibly elusive. The twentieth century experienced the rise of postmodernism.

Postmodernism is a contemporary interdisciplinary movement that stresses the wholistic, pragmatic, historically relative, character of reality and knowledge.² Postmodernism in some respects contains serious problems. Nonetheless, it has also clearly shown the errors of the Enlightenment and Modern eras.³ The perfectibility of mankind is no longer seen as inevitable. That which is new is no longer seen as better. People are now more likely to question a blind allegiance to progress. Postmodernism now provides some interesting possibilities for democracy and this is where the Greeks can help us. Since that which is new is no longer seen as valid, we can once again learn from the wisdom of the past. Because, in some ways, the Enlightenment project of progress and perfectibility failed, we can once again listen to the Greeks who would remind us of the unchanging nature of mankind. This nature is not always inherently good or perfectible. We, tragically, and concretely live in a world of absolutes and social programs that seek the utopian perfection of humanity are sorely disappointing. Reality (including political reality) has its own intractable way of being. This is why Plato’s utopian project failed when he tried to implement it in Syracuse. There is a certain logic and rhythm to human existence that transcends the rational and empirical. Human beings do not think or act in strict Enlightenment or rationalist categories. Enlightenment and Modernist theories of human nature were failures. The Greeks would remind us that we are all moved by the same desires, appetites, and impulses. Human nature is always guided by honor, status, a desire for recognition, and plagued by envy and jealousy. Mankind would be quite crass and uncouth without the thin veneer of civilization based on law, culture, tradition, and religion. Further, the Greeks would cause us to doubt any self-acclaimed theorist that would claim to have overcome human nature. The Athenians held no illusions of what it means to be human but they did believe in the equality of human beings and the wisdom of careful reflection and debate when it comes to democratic self-rule. The Athenians were aware of the innate human desire to grasp for more than it ought and many were ostracized or exiled whenever they sought more political power than one should have. If the Athenians feared anything, they feared tyranny in all its forms. The Athenians were not strictly concerned with the economy either, for they were aware of other cultures that had more wealth such as the Persians. But the Athenians understood that law and civic virtue supplied their freedom.

The Greeks provide us with ways to think about our current American democratic situation. It is hard to assess the contemporary American political situation as democratic. I can only give a few examples here of American democratic failure but there are many more. Whenever a representative places himself or herself above the law this person is functioning in an undemocratic manner. The same is true for political parties. Whenever one party dominates the political scene, the democratic process shuts down. The nomination process in America is equally nondemocratic, and parties are served instead of the people.

Today, candidates are chosen based on their popularity, not their merit or qualifications. In fact, political races today are a little more than publicity contests. A law enacted in Oregon in 1954 states that only candidates recognized by the national news media will be allowed on the ballots. This makes the media the nominators instead of the people. And media may, or may not, allow third parties representation. It is unclear how the fairness doctrine will accommodate third parties because it is based on a two-party framework. Since the 1920’s the media has become a major force in determining the contours of American politics often in the form of entertainment and at the expense of content and thoughtful debate. The media is more capable of shaping a candidate’s “image” rather than his or her ideas. Mass communication itself is not the problem, however, or at least, not the only one. Media as a technology and product of human beings will always bring with it the virtues and vices of human beings. Humans bring to the media the problems of the human condition itself. In America, the communication industry is largely unreflective and thoughtless because as a whole people are not given over to reflecting on the important issues of the day. But it must also be remembered that populism is not democracy.

In the next post, we will reflect on how America has shifted from a republic, to democracy, to populism, and finally to a thinly veiled constitutional bureaucracy.

1 Of course, the Progressive Party was a result of modernity but the Enlightenment provided the foundation of modernity and shared the same concerns.

2 Miller, 589.

3 Postmodernism can be taken too far. But some of its critiques of the Enlightenment and Modernity are valid.