Organized Power in American Democracy

Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.

--Rousseau

Around two hundred fifty years ago our founding fathers wisely recognized our individual freedom to self rule at a time when most people believed it was the divine right of kings. It is by the general will and consent of the public that we form a social contract for the benefit of all at the expense of our individual right. This social contract is the legal basis of our constitution from which all other rights are derived.

I defend our democracy as zealously as I would defend my right to self-rule were I not a member of it and I regard attacks on our democracy as acts of war against the American public.

A stable government provides the legal framework to create organizations like businesses and political parties. We allow these legal entities to interact with individuals as equal players in commercial markets, but as their rights do not derive from natural law they can have no authority to govern. Organizational power inside of our polity must therefore be considered illegitimate. Past judicial decisions placing organizational rights on par with individual rights are in error and must be revisited based on the common-sense argument that any other evaluation must be ludicrous.

Every eligible individual in that company has their own voice in the democratic process where the company itself does not.

Organizational power has its place in democracy. It gives a voice to individuals without power and enabled the labor and civil rights movements. Most would say these were good things even though some elements were a little rocky. These organizations empowered the people to make the changes they wanted to see. It wasn't like today where organizations bypass the public entirely to put their thumb on the scale. Organizations seeking change have been corrupted by party politics and lost their way, but this is a discussion for another day.

Organizational power is properly applied by convincing your fellow Americans on the merits of a position and them petitioning their representatives for change. This power is illegitimately applied as direct organizational action against the democratic institutions themselves. Examples may be influencing non-elected administration officials or obstructing legislative efforts. It is market manipulation where the market in this case is American democracy and this activity is treasonous. Political parties amplify these effects even further.