Legal scholar and National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen explains how many of the Constitution's safeguards against "mob rule" have frayed. His description of the problem is compelling, though he is less strong on possible solutions.
"Government is about power. Government is not just another word for things we do together," said Sasse.
Efforts on both right and left to make the democracy-promotion the key focus of constitutional law should be rejected.
Saving liberal democracy one platitude at a time
Democrats and Republicans reject individualism and free speech and both have become dangerous to our liberty.
Economist Dambisa Moyo is right to worry about the dangers of political ignorance. But her proposed solution for the problem falls short.
This forthcoming article discusses how we can massively expand economic opportunity by making it easier for people to "vote with their feet," both domestically and through international migration.
Recent events such as the student walkout to promote gun control raise the issue of how much credibility we should give to the political views of the young, and victims of crime. At least as a general rule, there is no reason to give those views any special credence.
Seattle's vouchers, passed to give outsiders a leg up, instead act as campaign welfare for well-established candidates.
Rights are theoretical unless you can defend them.
When elected officials regularly run unopposed, there's no democratic accountability.
The alleged fraud highlights the ways in which the controversial program has failed to help outsider candidates.
A program intended to empower voters has instead funneled public money to most organized and funded campaigns.
When the press tilts in favor of higher taxes and more regulation, democracy is indeed distorted.
Californians would be better equipped to govern themselves fairly.
Striking findings from Pew Research
Populism is a result of government's separation from its citizens over decades.
Go find out at "Your Life In Numbers" over at the Human Progress program at the Cato Institute
The people's best political framework is neither democracy nor epistocracy but original liberalism, or what we today call libertarianism.
A reminder from libertarian philosopher Jason Brennan, author of Against Democracy
The power's with the people.
Dictatorships may value literacy as much as democracies, but they value life a lot less.
But he'd be a better fit for an autocracy
If Hispanic immigrants had backed a strongman, conservatives would have declared them a threat to freedom.
The next U.S. president doesn't need to try to set the world right.
Lawrence Dennis, Norman Thomas, A.J. Muste, and Raymond Moley debate the ideal social system.
Jonathan Rauch's Political Realism argues that libertarians should embrace "transactional politics" if they want big changes.
Not getting what you want from the government isn't a sign of failure.
Libertarians have long warned that democracy might not be all it's cracked up to be.
United States ranks 20th in the Cato Institute's new freedom index.
Fattah and others allegedly connected to five different corruption schemes.
The Umbrella Movement is focused on its own struggle, not mainland China's.
Philly Democrats essentially voting for the next mayor today
Lessons from Thailand on wishing for stronger leaders.
Real freedom means doing what you choose as an individual and not waiting for the rest of society to vote on whether you can.
Americans right and left tend to give up on the Constitution whenever it gets in the way of policies they like.
The biggest fans of "democracy" treat this orgy of vacuous lever pulling as if it were sacred or patriotic. It's neither.
Supporters of China's rule take on pro-democracy protesters
