Democracy in America?

The Intelligence Unit of The Economist publishes a Democracy Index annually, ranking the nations of the world in terms of the state of democracy in each country. Nations are given numerical scores on a total of 60 indicators and grouped into four categories based on their average score: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes.  

The United States fell out of the “full democracies” category in 2016. In the 2021 Democracy Index (the most recent) the United States remained in the “flawed democracies” category, ranking 26th in the world in terms of the state of our democracy. The “score” for the United States has consistently trended downward since the Democracy Index was first compiled and published in 2006, from a score of 8.22 in 2006 to a score of 7.85 in 2021. The biggest year-to-year drops in the U. S. score were drops of 0.07% from 2010 to 2022 and from 2020 to 2021.  

One of the most pervasive forms of American exceptionalism is the belief that we are the greatest democracy in the world and in the history of the world.  The reality is that there are serious flaws in the manner in which we conduct our elections and numerous antidemocratic provisions in our Constitution.  Our version of democracy is seriously flawed.    

The work of making America a “full democracy” (and a more perfect democracy) begins with a clear definition of democracy and a shared understanding of the essential elements of a perfect democracy. democracy” once again and to moving up the charts in the Democracy Index is for Americans to unite in support of the ideals upon which our nation was founded. We need to join forces and do the work of making our government our own. We must come together in support of reforms that will make America a full democracy and the most democratic nation in the world. If we succeed in that effort, we will make history.  

The work of making America a full democracy begins with a clear definition of democracy and a shared understanding of the essential elements of a perfect democracy. 

Although the word “democracy” does not appear anywhere in the Declaration of Independence, a government in which the “just powers” of government are derived from “the consent of the governed” is a democracy.  The word “democracy” also does not appear anywhere in our Constitution - although Article IV, Section 4 does “guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government” – in other words, a representative democracy.          

In a democracy, the “just powers” of government (including laws and public policies) are derived from “the consent of the governed”.  How do “the governed” give their consent?  By voting – directly or indirectly.  And when the votes are counted, the will of the majority must prevail.  Any provision or practice that enables a minority to overrule the majority is antidemocratic.         

The antidemocratic provisions embedded in our Constitution created a form of government that is in conflict with the ideals upon which our nation was founded, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and with the essential elements of a perfect democracy, as identified by John Locke.  If we want America to be a more perfect democracy, we must amend our Constitution.