Politics
Stop pretending the U.S. is a democracy
While state and local governments have democratic processes, the national government is far from democratic: More than 300 million Americans have no effective power in Congress.
Most people understand that the electoral college is a farce, giving us two presidents in this century who took office despite losing the popular vote. But less widely understood is that Congress is an even larger farce. The U.S. House of Representative can lay some claim to be a truly representative body if you discount the distortions of gerrymandering. But the Senate, where any legislation must also be approved, has no such pretense. Every state has the same power, regardless of population.
Thus, voters in Wyoming, the least populous state, with about 577,000 people, have the same political power as the voters in any of the more populous states. If you live in Texas or California, only the first 577,000 people have the same power as those in Wyoming; the rest have no effective representation. So, just do the math. Multiply 577,000 by 50 to give you the population truly represented in the Senate: 28,850,000. The remaining 302,600,000 people (U.S. population of 331,450,000 minus 28,850,000) have no effective voice in the Senate. And since the Senate can block any legislation sent up by the House, no effective power in the Senate equals no effective power in Congress.
Admittedly, legislation is often passed because the interests of the smaller states and the larger states are the same or the interests of both parties are the same. Or sometimes the senators from big states will bribe senators from little states with pork barrel projects to pass legislation. Or sometimes Congress will move on an issue because the alternative is revolution, such as with the Great Depression. But all in all, representation is a joke. And any claim that the U.S. is a democracy is also a joke.
Nor is the U.S. a genuine republic, as some conservatives will claim. Even in a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people, not by a process that distorts and seriously limits such representation.
While state and local governments have democratic processes, the national government is far from democratic: More than 300 million Americans have no effective power in Congress.
Most people understand that the electoral college is a farce, giving us two presidents in this century who took office despite losing the popular vote. But less widely understood is that Congress is an even larger farce. The U.S. House of Representative can lay some claim to be a truly representative body if you discount the distortions of gerrymandering. But the Senate, where any legislation must also be approved, has no such pretense. Every state has the same power, regardless of population.
Thus, voters in Wyoming, the least populous state, with about 577,000 people, have the same political power as the voters in any of the more populous states. If you live in Texas or California, only the first 577,000 people have the same power as those in Wyoming; the rest have no effective representation. So, just do the math. Multiply 577,000 by 50 to give you the population truly represented in the Senate: 28,850,000. The remaining 302,600,000 people (U.S. population of 331,450,000 minus 28,850,000) have no effective voice in the Senate. And since the Senate can block any legislation sent up by the House, no effective power in the Senate equals no effective power in Congress.
Admittedly, legislation is often passed because the interests of the smaller states and the larger states are the same or the interests of both parties are the same. Or sometimes the senators from big states will bribe senators from little states with pork barrel projects to pass legislation. Or sometimes Congress will move on an issue because the alternative is revolution, such as with the Great Depression. But all in all, representation is a joke. And any claim that the U.S. is a democracy is also a joke.
Nor is the U.S. a genuine republic, as some conservatives will claim. Even in a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people, not by a process that distorts and seriously limits such representation.
Images U.S. flags on National Mall, Lipton sale, CC BY-SA 3.0
Robert S Urbanek grew up in Southern California and earned a BA in journalism from California State University, Long beach, in 1973. He has more than two decades of experience as a writer and editor for community newspapers and medical and legal-related publications, which included several years each with the National Notary Association, The Doctors' Company, and CCH Incorporated. © Robert S Urbanek