What Would Jefferson Do?

Today, some 80 nations can be described as fully democratic. Yet in numerous countries around the world, democracy has failed or is tottering, and in the United States its principles are increasingly under siege from corporate and other forces. InWhat Would Jefferson Do?Thom Hartmann shows why democracy is not an aberration in human history but the oldest, most resilient, and most universal form of government, with roots in nature itself. He traces the history of democracy in the United States, identifies the most prevalent myths about it, and offers an inspiring yet realistic plan for transforming the political landscape and reviving Jefferson's dream before it is too late.

Thom Hartmann is the host of a nationally syndicated progressive daily radio show, The Thom Hartmann Program, and the award-winning author of fourteen books. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Acknowledgments

xi

Introduction

xiii

1 AMERICA'S DEMOCRACY IS ERODING

1

(9)

Bad for democracy, good for giant corporations

4

(3)

The loss of democratic participation

7

(1)

The rise of the new corporate feudal lords

7

(2)

The three threats

9

(1)

2 WHAT IS DEMOCRACY, AND WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

10

(14)

Democracies don't attack each other

10

(4)

How democracy is defined

14

(5)

Antidemocracies

19

(1)

The characteristics of a healthy democracy

20

(2)

The Goddess of Democracy

22

(1)

Beware: Tight control can look very good, at first

22

(1)

Is this what the Founders fought for?

23

(1)

3 PEOPLE AND EVENTS THAT INFLUENCED AMERICA'S FOUNDERS

24

(32)

Jefferson encounters ancient wisdom

24

(4)

Native Americans

28

(3)

Tacitus on the natives of England

31

(3)

Paul de Rapin Thoyras on the history of England

34

(7)

The truth about the Tea Party

41

(15)

4 WHEN DEMOCRACY FAILED

56

(9)

Sunset provisions and gradual increases in terror

58

(2)

Creating a new homeland security bureau

60

(1)

The lies that convinced the people war was necessary

61

(2)

Two nations take two different paths-in the 1930's.

63

(2)

5 MYTHS ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA

65

(67)

Myth: "Even our Founders knew democracies eventually self-destruct."

65

(2)

Myth: "America was created by rich white men to protect their wealth."

67

(9)

Myth: "The Founders wrote slavery into the Constitution."

76

(11)

Myth: A woman's place is in the home, and the Founders knew it."

87

(2)

Myth: "The Republican Party has always been the party of big business and cheap labor."

89

(2)

Myth: "The Founders thought the Constitution was perfect and should never change."

91

(3)

Myth: "Government is an evil entity that's against the people."

94

(1)

Myth: "The Founders and Framers were impractical, idealistic Enlightenment-era dreamers."

95

(1)

Myth: "The Constitution offers no right to privacy"

96

(3)

Myth: "Jefferson said it's wrong for the rich to pay more in taxes."

99

(5)

Myth: "Working women are responsible for the loss of good-paying jobs."

104

(3)

Myth: "Liberals wrote child labor laws to create a shortage and drive up wages."

107

(2)

Myth: "Left to themselves, people would drain the Treasury"

109

(1)

Myth: "Liberal democratic policies are socialism."

110

(1)

Myth: "Free markets are nature's way of making the winner fit and strong (it's Darwin)."

111

(5)

Myth: "Taxes are an unfair burden and a waste of money"

116

(3)

Myth: "Social programs are the liberals' way of buying votes."

119

(2)

Myth: "Unlimited growth and concentration of power is nature's way and it's good for us."

121

(1)

Myth: "Media conglomerates are just nature taking its course."

122

(1)

Myth: "The media have a liberal bias."

123

(1)

Myth: "There's too much regulation: Get government off the backs of big companies."

124

(3)

Myth: "NAFTA/GATT/WTO 'free trade' is good for all nations."

127

(2)

Myth: "Unions harm economies by driving up wage expenses."

129

(1)

It's time to set aside the myths.

130

(2)

6 WHAT BECAME OF REAL AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES?

132

(8)

The modern conservative movement: Russell Kirk

133

(2)

The shift to pseudoconservative values

135

(1)

Awakening to the antidemocratic conservative damage

136

(4)

7 DEMOCRACY, NOT DOMINANCE, IS THE WAY OF NATURE

140

(15)

The biology of democracy

142

(2)

Democracy in nature

144

(2)

Is democracy the same thing as enlightened self-interest?

146

(1)

But what about "survival of the fittest"?

147

(1)

Tribal democracy

148

(5)

Democracy always wins.

153

(2)

8 WARLORDS, THEOCRATS, AND ARISTOCRATS RISE AGAIN

155

(28)

Warlord presidents use "national security" to grab power.

156

(8)

Theocrats attack democracy.

164

(10)

The new aristocracy: corporatism and monopolies

174

(9)

9 MODERN DEMOCRACY: ITS HISTORY AND WHY IT WORKS

183

(21)

The oldest democratic cultures

183

(5)

Roots in Rome and Greece

188

(16)

10 THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD TODAY

204

(15)

Democracy spreads across the world in a single century, 1920-2000.

204

(5)

Where we are now

209

(1)

Democracy is inevitable.

210

(9)

11 A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA AND THE WORLD

219

(35)

Register'and vote.

220

(1)

Return war powers to Congress and end nonwars.

221

(3)

Repeal the PATRIOT Act and other antiliberty laws.

224

(1)

Provide free high-quality public education for all-through college.

224

(3)

Require that any benefits Congress gives itself, it gives to all citizens.

227

(1)

Provide health care for all.

227

(1)

Require a living wage.

228

(2)

Support organized labor or organize your workplace.

230

(1)

Use tariffs and trade policy to balance labor's playing field.

231

(1)

Strengthen the social safety net.

232

(5)

Bring back the middle class by restoring the tax laws that created it.

237

(1)

Keep Social Security out of corporate hands.

238

(1)

Institute universal conscription.

239

(2)

Clean up the environment and public lands.

241

(1)

Strengthen the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and break up monopolies.

242

(1)

Bust up the media conglomerates and restore a robust free press.

243

(2)

Make the "revolving door" between industry and regulatory agencies illegal.

245

(1)

Use tax incentives and grants to jump-start alternative energy.

245

(1)

Reserve human rights for humans, not "aggregated capital."

246

(1)

Keep church and state separate.

247

(1)

Make the United States more democratic in its elections.

248

(3)

Abolish the Electoral College.

251

(1)

Get corporations out of the voting process.

251

(1)

Make the UN more democratic.

252