We humans have had forms of government longer than we have had writing. So it is not surprising that quite a number of aphorisms about government have accumulated. Three of the small fraction to which I have been introduced come to mind fairly often.
One bit of government truth is possibly the best-known aphorism in the category, while being at the same time the least-heeded. Thomas Jefferson observed, “That government which governs least governs best“. However, a nineteenth century “philosopher / economist” later composed siren songs advocating governing most and governing everything; sadly, a large percentage of 20th and 21st century politicians have fallen prey to those deadly tunes.
Another bit of Jeffersonian truth is prominently engraved in the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty“. It is clear that he meant vigilance of our own government and not of imminent invaders.
Alexis de Toqueville, a French scholar and philosopher, made an extensive visit and study of the United States and later observed, ”A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” Alexis de Toqueville’s perceptive quote remains timely, especially during the last seventy years: is the U.S. now running on borrowed time (as well as borrowed money)?
Posted by thedrake01 
