In 1787 when the United States drafted its constitution for a democratic government of the people, for the people and by the people, Professor Alexander Tyler (University of Edinborough –circa 1787) wrote about the stages of birth and death of democracy. According Alexander Tyler it takes an average of two hundred years for a democracy to mature, reach its crescendo and then revert back to bondage.
There are eight stages of democracy he observed:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.
Nascent democracies in the past have had growing problems and trouble getting off the ground. Some countries have sea-sawed between autocracy and democracy (e.g. Pakistan). Iraq is struggling against all odds to provide freedom to its people after the fall of a brutal totalitarian dictator. Russia is still experimenting with its newly found freedom. Germany suffered set backs from fascism earlier in the 20th century. Japan emerged a free country after its monarchy. Iran’s theocracy has a strong hold on its people thought there is a ground swell of discontent as people yearn for more freedom.
Yet, world’s oldest democracies appear to be suffering form apathy, an insidious process that can have disastrous consequences. The democracy in United States is in the process of creating a dependency class because of voter complacency and apathy. Americans who cherish their liberty are now seeing it slowly being eroded by the government that they elected and created. Most defenders of democracy feel that democracy needs to be defended constantly. It cannot be taken for granted. It needs to be protected, nurtured, improved on and then passed on to the next generation.
The democratic process is a gamut that hits many bumps in its long journey. There are times when it looks hopeless and to be withering. But once the people have tasted freedom, it is hard to take it away. Unfortunately, the obstacles that prevent democracy from blooming, sometimes last for generations. Generations of people around the world have endured autocracy and dictatorship, totalitarianism, fascism, monarchy, oligarchy and even anarchy without knowing freedom.
The United States government and democracy has been in peril many times in its history. Many of its leaders and presidents were unsure about maintaining democracy and liberty during their tenures. Abraham Lincoln who avoided a division of his country into north and south had lamented, “I am struggling to maintain the government, not to overthrow it. I am struggling especially to prevent others from overthrowing it.” John F. Kennedy in his State of the Union address on January 30, 1961 said, “Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed as such as ours can endure. The outcome is by no means certain.” There always has been a pessimism regarding the endurance of democracy over many centuries.
Winston Churchill, in his speech to the House of Commons on November 11, 1947 said,
“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except al those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
– Neria Harish Hebbar, MD
