The spread of democracy.
Is Democracy the Best Form of Government?—During the past few years democracy has been rapidly gaining ground. The governments of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and other countries have been reconstructed in such way as to give them, outwardly at any rate, the rank of democratic states. But in spite of this phenomenal progress, which came on the heels of the World War, it remains a fact that more than half the population of the world is still living under systems of government which the people do not control. The world has not yet been made safe for democracy, nor half of it.
This suggests the question whether democracy is the best form of government for all races and under all circumstances. Is it best for backward races, for races only partly civilized? Is it the best system for people who have had very little political experience, such as the Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Filipinos? Are we quite certain, in fact, that it is the best form of government for fully civilized mankind? Most people have always felt sure that democracy is the nearest approach to an ideal form of government, but if you ask their reasons for this belief, you will frequently find that they have never thought of any reasons. Democracy has been and is being severely criticized by various writers who declare that it merely places political power in the hands of the ignorant and unthinking masses, that it leads to wastefulness, extravagance, and corruption, that it fosters incompetence in public office, and that it results in woeful misgovernment.[[18]]
Now it is quite true that democracy does all this in some cases, but however grave the indictment may be, the friends of democracy can always answer: “What better alternative do you offer?” The great Italian statesman, Cavour, once remarked that, whatever faults it might have, a legislative chamber was better than a king’s antechamber. The justification of democracy is that it ensures, not necessarily the best government, or even good government; but the sort of government the people earn for themselves. A stream does not rise higher than its source. Nor can a representative government reach any higher level than that on which the people maintain it. It will reflect the intelligence, honesty, and patriotism of the governed. That is one reason why we should not apply to backward races the same principles of government which we apply to more civilized people. Democracy is the best form of government for those who are able to govern themselves, but this does not include all the people of the earth by any means.
How a government fulfils its purpose.
The Purpose of Government.—Having seen how governments originated, what forms they have assumed, and why they ought to be obeyed, it may be well to ask ourselves: What is the purpose of government? What ends does it serve?
The purpose of government is to promote the interests of each by promoting the interests of all. This end it seeks to attain in various ways. It protects the whole body of its people against external aggression, against foreign invasion. It also in this connection maintains the rights and liberties of its citizens against wrongful interference on the part of foreign states or citizens. It is for this purpose that armies and navies are maintained. The government safeguards its own citizens from injustice at the hands of one another. This it does by laws which define the relations of individuals to one another, and of one group of individuals to other groups. These laws prescribe the relations of husband and wife, of parent and child, of landlord and tenant, of employer and employee, of office-holder and citizen—they define and regulate every person’s rights and duties towards others. In order that we may exercise our rights and perform our duties we must first know what they are. The state, through its laws, tells us. Through its courts, moreover, it applies such pressure upon reluctant individuals as may be necessary to make these rights and duties real. In a word, government exists to enforce rights and to secure liberty.
Relation of government to individual rights.
Were every individual immune from the jurisdiction of any superior authority, and free to do as he pleased, he would have to accord every other individual the same immunity and the same freedom. He would then have no rights that anyone else would be bound to respect. He would have no liberty that others could not, by force, take away from him. He would have no security against violence to his person or property. The strength of his own strong arm would be his only protection. What a condition of chaos, injustice, bloodshed, and anarchy that would be!
The constructive work of government.