The Middle Way

“Proclaim liberty to all the earth and to all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10).

Last week, President Bush delivered a stirring paean to individual freedom, which he said would become a standard for nations seeking closer relations with the United States. The recent elections in Palestine and Ukraine, and the upcoming ones in Iraq are all touted as examples of budding democracies throughout the world. Of course, like most Americans (and others), I hope the President is right; however, history suggests that the expectation of democracy, particularly in the Middle East, is likely to be very premature.

Democracy is an advanced state of social development which requires many preceding steps to be followed before it can take root. As evidence for this, let us take a look at the steps that the English and we had to take before achieving the free government that we have today:

• Establishment of a united nation, ending tribalism: King Alfred, 6^th century AD

• Establishment of fundamental human rights and the rule of law: Magna Carta, 1215

• Creation of higher education: Oxford University, 13^th century.

• Establishment of a legislature independent of the ruler: Parliament, 14^th century.

• Rise of a middle class, neither privileged nor poor: 15^th century.

• Subordination of the military to civilian government: End of feudalism in England, 15^th-16^th centuries.

• Establishment of an independent judiciary (not sure about date, certainly before 1600)

• A written constitution (not mandatory – Britain still does not have one, but highly recommended): Virginia Ordinance, 1621, which in time led to the New Hampshire Constitution (the first modern state constitution) in 1784, which in turn was a model for the US Constitution in 1787.

• A written statement of human rights: Declaration of Rights, 1688

• Establishment of federalism (optional for many nations, required where there are diverse populations): Act of Union between England and Scotland, 1707.

• Freedom of the press: John Peter Zenger trial in New York, 1735

• The right to impeach officers for high crimes and misdemeanors: before 1776

• Establishment of universal and mandatory public education: 1778-1920

• Disestablishment of state religion (again optional, but highly recommended): Completed with South Carolina, 1832

• Elimination of property requirements to vote: c. 1832

• Establishment of the secret ballot: c. 1913

• Universal suffrage for white males: c. 1913

• Universal suffrage for whites: Eighteenth Amendment (women’s suffrage), 1920

• Reforms to protect the ballot from fraud: c. 1950-date

• Universal adult suffrage, period: Voting Rights Act, 1965

Granted, nations today may learn from history the knowledge we acquired the hard way, which enables them to accelerate of the process. With sufficient will, and following its European heritage, Ukraine might now be ready for democracy; but to expect Iraq to complete this process in only three years without a supportive culture, is demanding more than is likely to be humanly possible.

Sometimes, the process of liberating a people is better served with at least somewhat benevolent dictators during a transitional period; such as King Louis Philippe in France (1830-1848), Francisco Franco in Spain (1931-1974), and a succession of military rulers in Turkey, ending in the mid 1990s, which may have provided that nation with enough stability to make it the first true democracy in the Islamic world. It is still too early to judge whether Vladimir Putin is attempting to fit this mold with his “dictatorship of law” in Russia.

America’s foreign policy should nurture human rights everywhere, provide technical help to nations desiring it, and stand against rulers who egregiously exploit or enslave their people (for example, in Rwanda and Sudan); but let us be reasonable in our expectations. It took us 14 centuries to get there. We should expect that for others, it will take a generation or more.

Copyright © 2005, Harold D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to use the material in this blog provided both conditions are met: (1) Credit is given to the author, and (2) the use is not for profit.