Here’s hoping next elected president will rule by law

So here we are again, a few weeks before another major decision, and about 40 percent of us, according to sociologists, already have our minds made up. Rock-solid, Democrat or Republican, no matter what. Reality need not apply. The only thing that needn’t apply for me is religion, since I believe in government by people and for people, not by Divine Fiat.

And there’s that little document called the U.S. Constitution, which says that there shall be no religious test in order to hold office. Oh, well, so much for it. Seems to me, there’s still a sign that says “Christians Only,” at least for any high office in this country.

Anyway, 20 percent will vote for John McCain, even if he says that his first act as president will be to bomb Norway, Sweden and Finland, just because he hates lutefisk.

Another fifth will vote for Barack Obama, even if he announces that he’s the anti-Christ, and promises Armageddon as part of his “first 100 days” plan.

But that means the majority of us are at least open to considering what it might mean for one or the other ticket to win, in the assumption that it does make a difference. I’m of that mind, and although it may be obvious, I think I should mention that what we’re voting for, or against, is government.

Which is to say, one party – the one that says that it doesn’t believe in government – wants us to vote for it to govern us. Surreal, isn’t it?

To borrow from Clausewitz, a government that doesn’t govern is “merely the continuation of policy by other means.” We are still governed, but by what? Does anyone think that allowing corporations to step in, privatizing everything in sight, works as a substitute for accountability, oversight, transparency and regulations designed for the greater good for the greater many?

I think it’s worth a brief look at types of governments just to see what the odds are that any one can work to achieve that greater good, which is to ask, “What type of government will give us the best chance to be happy?”

For that I’ll turn to Aristotle, whose analysis is still the best I’ve read, amazingly enough. He realized that external forces, especially government, have a great deal to do with whether or not one has a chance at the Good Life. And for Aristotle, democracy is only the best of the worst governments, a “perversion” of its “true form,” constitutional government. Democracy certainly doesn’t always equal freedom. It’s neither necessary nor sufficient.

But before getting into types of government, we need a brief look at his philosophy of the “mean.” Aristotle always looked at diametrically opposed pairs, and then chose the mean, the middle course between “excess” and “defect.” He saw, for instance, “foolhardiness/cowardice” as two extremes of behavior, rejecting both for courage. In this way, he set out to avoid the worst outcomes, even when “excess” might win the day. A foolhardy battle commander might, through sheer brazenness, come through unsplintered, but do you want to put your money there as a regular bet? Better to take the mean and go with the courageous leader.

Applying the mean to government, Aristotle saw an enlightened monarchy as the best, ideal government, but in its worst “perversion” (as he called it), it degenerates into tyranny, and he was naturally opposed to despotic rule. So, given the fact that the best government can degenerate into the worst, he reluctantly decided not to go that route, looking for something closer to the middle.

Comparing the next two forms, he looked at rule by the few, which in its ideal form is an aristocracy, and in its degenerate, an oligarchy. Rule by the rich is likewise not to be desired, and so he also laid this option aside.

The last dyad sets the best form of bad government, democracy, in opposition to its ideal, the worst of the good: a polity, i.e., constitutional government. Aristotle rejected democracy; his reason being that (in his words) it tended the “needs of the needy,” not those of most people. However, a constitutional government that degenerates into a democracy is far preferable to a monarchy turned despotic, so this last pair is the mean upon which Aristotle settled. Rule by law, at best, rule by majority opinion, at worst.

I’ll leave it for you to decide what we have these days. Good luck to us all.