Post by Administrator on Sept 1, 2012 10:59:59 GMT -5
How could it be denied that an individual knows his own interests better than any elected representative could? Even where the representative, either as a candidate or as an elected official, were privy to knowledge that would, were it known to the individual, alter his evaluation of his own interests, this knowledge might be imparted to the voter without ever representing him; or, in the case of information too sensitive for general dissemination, be withheld and yet acted upon by those professionals appointed or hired to the task.
The role of the representative is neither to educate the individual on his own interests, nor to represent the interests of any single voter. And let us not neglect to ask: Do elected representatives know even what is in their own best interests? Look to the Congress and take a minute.
Futhermore, one who acts contrary to his own best interests may yet be a peaceful, intelligent, and well-intentioned human being. Like most of us, he will grow and mature further by facing the fullest consequences for his own poor choices as directly and as personally as possible. The elected representative cannot know where the individual stands in this regard, nor could he accommodate those needs even if he did have knowledge of them.
To the extent that a representative system intervenes between one's choices and their full consequences, whatever potential for personal growth one might have enjoyed devolves instead into crass partisanship--into blaming others and their elected proxies for one's own disempowerment. Representative democracy, even in the form of a constitutional republic such as ours, limits the real potential of the human race out of fear of repeating history's most pathetic failures.
The role of the representative is neither to educate the individual on his own interests, nor to represent the interests of any single voter. And let us not neglect to ask: Do elected representatives know even what is in their own best interests? Look to the Congress and take a minute.
Futhermore, one who acts contrary to his own best interests may yet be a peaceful, intelligent, and well-intentioned human being. Like most of us, he will grow and mature further by facing the fullest consequences for his own poor choices as directly and as personally as possible. The elected representative cannot know where the individual stands in this regard, nor could he accommodate those needs even if he did have knowledge of them.
To the extent that a representative system intervenes between one's choices and their full consequences, whatever potential for personal growth one might have enjoyed devolves instead into crass partisanship--into blaming others and their elected proxies for one's own disempowerment. Representative democracy, even in the form of a constitutional republic such as ours, limits the real potential of the human race out of fear of repeating history's most pathetic failures.