When Woodrow Wilson lead America into World War I, his battle cry was that America needed to “make the world safe for democracy.” Resting upon the unquestionable assumption that democracy is not only the best, but ultimately the only form of government, democratic principles have come to animate the Western mind. It has a habit of doing that because it seeks to impose equality by force of the mob. In a previous post we discussed why this might be not only unjust, but ultimately dangerous. In this post we would like to pick up on that theme by examining the Church’s teaching on democracy, a teaching that like all things Catholic, takes a “both/and” nuanced approach that also keeps the world safe from democracy, or at least safe from the threat of absolutism that looms over it.
The Church’s political philosophy rests not only upon the teaching of St. Augustine in The City of God, but also St. Thomas Aquinas in his De Regno as well as his Commentary on Aristotle’s Politics. St. Thomas, despite favoring monarchy was not opposed to democracy because he thought that “all should take some share in the government: for this form of constitution ensures peace among the people, commends itself to all, and is most enduring.” Nevertheless the “best form of polity, being partly kingdom, since there is one at the head of all; partly aristocracy, in so far as a number of persons are set in authority; partly democracy, i.e. government by the people, in so far as the rulers can be chosen from the people, and the people have the right to choose their rulers” (ST I-II q.105, a.1).
Democracy in the Ideal Government
This ideal, mixed regime that included democracy was based upon a vastly different conception of democracy than we are used to. “Government by the people” in St. Thomas’ mind is based on how leaders are chosen and not on how they govern. Once chosen, the leaders are not representatives of the people but instead real leaders. A leader assumes responsibility and it not a mere spokesman of the people or a party.
Modern sensibilities reject all other forms of government for two reasons. First, because each man is “equal”, each must have an equal say in governing and selecting representatives. Secondly, because authority comes from below, from the individual himself, and not from God, each man can only cede his authority over to some chosen representative. When these two things are accepted as “givens” then democracy becomes the only just form of government. Thus, the mission to “make the world safe for democracy” becomes a demand of social justice.
The Church on the other hand, because she views authority as coming from above, thinks any of the three regimes mentioned by St. Thomas is acceptable if justice is maintained. As St. Pius X said, “Justice being preserved, it is not forbidden to the people to choose for themselves the form of government which best corresponds with their character or with the institutions and customs handed down by their forefathers….Therefore, when he said that justice could be found in any of the three aforesaid forms of government, he was teaching that in this respect Democracy does not enjoy a special privilege” (Our Apostolic Mandate).
The Demon Hidden in Democracy
Francis Fukuyama thought that the rise of democracy marked the “end of history”. Democracy, viewed as the end of history, is really the beginning of absolutism. When democracy takes upon itself the mantle of only legitimate regime, it becomes susceptible to becoming tyrannical. Nearly all of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th Century had democratic roots and this is because it has no mechanism that checks the will of the people. A system of “horizontal pressure” develops in which the majority drowns out the minority. Unless one is conditioned to self-government, that is virtuous, he can become irrational and passion-driven. Through appeals to the passions and through propaganda, the people become easily manipulated by those in power, all while maintaining the guise of freedom and equality.
The key then becomes checking democracy against the moral law. Absent appeals to the natural law, a corrupted democracy becomes the worst of all regimes. A tyranny of 1 or of few is far better than a tyranny of many. It was in this spirit that Pope Pius XII examined Democracy as a means of lasting peace.
In his Christmas message of 1944, Pope Pius XII cautioned against blind acceptance of democracy as the only acceptable form of government. He pointed out that it is only a cause of peace when it is well-ordered to justice. This ordering to justice can only happen in what he calls “a sound Democracy” which is “ based on the immutable principles of the natural law and revealed truth, will resolutely turn its back on such corruption as gives to the state legislature in unchecked and unlimited power, and moreover, makes of the democratic regime, notwithstanding an outward show to the contrary, purely and simply a form of absolutism.”
The susceptibility of democracy to descend into Ochlocracy is also hastened when it tries to enforce political equality. Because of the natural inequality in mankind, not everyone should be involved in the political process. Extending the right to vote based solely upon citizenship is a dangerous proposition. Most people are not politically engaged enough to make educated votes and thus they are more likely to become a mob rather than an electorate. Late night TV hosts may find it funny to ask the average Joe questions about various candidates and laugh at their answers, but these people are also the same ones whose votes count as much as the person who learns of different candidates and seeks the common good. This is one reason among many why a democracy is not the best means for protecting freedom and maintaining natural equality.
