Democracy and Efficient Government—Lessons of the War

Extract

Under the happiest of conditions it is scarcely to be expected that democracy should result in a high degree of efficient government. For the very object of democracy is to give expression to desires and impulses which can only with difficulty be brought into harmony. Whether taken in the sense of the direct government of the people or in the sense of government by representatives of the people, democracy involves the reconciliation of conflicting views, resulting after much discussion and delay in the adoption of a compromise more or less unsatisfactory to both sides. In the formulation of its policies democracy is thus reduced to what is feasible and expedient in view of the present state of public opinion, while in the administration of its laws it must depend upon the executive ability not of its ablest citizens but of those who have succeeded in winning the confidence of their constituents. Moreover, in spite of obvious duplication of functions it is important that government be kept decentralized in order that the individuality of local areas may be preserved where national unity is not essential.