Democracy and the Reasonable Society
The question addressed herein is: Is it possible to have a ôreasonable societyö in the absence of democracy, and if so, how? If not, why not? It will be argued, drawing upon the ideas advanced by Cicero, John Milton and Immanuel Kant, that democracy as a means of fostering representative government, freedom of speech, and the maintenance of individual dignity and rights is essential in any society; lacking democratic ideals and institutions, most societies will become ôunreasonableö or vulnerable to the establishment of governments and institutions that are abusive of the autonomous rights of the individual and of groups within society.
M. Tullius Cicero (1), in On the Law, held that law was itself a ôcertain eternal principle, which governs the entire universe, wisely commanding what is right and prohibiting what is wrong.ö Central to CiceroÆs (2) understanding of the nature and content and thrust of this law was the belief that society should function in a manner designed to ensure that human rights will be protected. It is important to recognize that in speaking in this manner, Cicero was focused on the Roman republican ideal in which an assembly of equals û the Roman Senate û was the central decision-making organ of government. In such a system, while there were temporarily appointed leaders and administrators (e.g., consuls, provincial governors, and so forth) who assumed a large share of responsibility for the day-to-day operation of government, the Senate was the locus of democratic, representative government.
Although the limits of Roman democracy were extreme even during the days of the Republic, Cicero (3) contended that democratic society was best served via codification of the law and maintenance of the law as the normative institution in society. Additionally, while Cicero certainly did not understand ôdemocracyö as it is now understood and practiced in the...