Reviving republicanism
[On Power]
With the advent of Trump, the United States has seen something of a renaissance in political thought, particularly on the right. For the first time since World War II, the neo-liberal and neo-conservative monopoly yielded to a surge of nationalism and populism. Political thinkers from the nationalist pre-WWII era are being steadily revived and applied to contemporary times, where their work has found an ironically comfortable place in its relevance.
Ideas like kingship, lordship, absolutism, and fascism have all seen a sudden resurgence with discussions facilitated online (to the chagrin of the corporate media). However, despite all the dialogue, I have always found it strange that I never seem to encounter anyone advocate for a "republican revival". This is especially strange here in the United States, which was built on republican ideals and had a significant stretch of its history as a proper republic. In part, the recent populist sentiment is a sort of "republican revival" to transfer power from various oligarchic factions and bureaucracies to the citizenship. Nevertheless, I think any republic undergoing a populist movement has already lost its roots.
The roots of a republic
As a "publicly owned government", the "rule by many" has only seen success under a few certain conditions. Indeed, contemporary historians love to champion early democratic institutions in Greece and Rome and ignore the corruption and bribery which plagued them. I propose that the success of these societies is not because of their democratic institutions, but what made those institutions possible in the first place.
At its core, the citizenship is the root of a republic. The citizenship is not and has never been all residents within a republic. The citizens are the many stakeholders in a republic who guide its course. And more so than any other system of government, the civic virtue of the rulers (the citizens) is the most important trait in a healthy republic. In contrast, the self-interest of a monarch can guide a country to relative wealth and success by trying to maximize production and, thus, taxation for his personal treasury. For a republic, representatives are incentivized to loot the public treasury as much as possible during their service. Since their salaries are not directly linked to the productivity of the economy, they also have no incentive to promote its growth. Indeed, the only thing that prevents the looting of the public treasury is civic virtue, or the ethic of working towards the common good.
On the death of a republic
Caesar is the emblematic figure of any republic's death. However, the Roman Republic was surely already dead before Caesar unbundled fasces. The "when" of this death is uncertain. As in the United States, the suffocation of a republic is slow. By the time one has become concerned about its problems, it probably has already died.
In my view, there are two primary means of death for a republic, both through its citizenship. First is the dilution of the citizenship. This is perhaps the quickest way to lose a republic. When citizenship is extended to those with less civic virtue, stakes in the country, and even relevant education, the general citizenship is weakened, and a vacuum is opened to be filled by other powers. Such was the case in Rome as they gradually extended citizenship to the general Latins and even non-Italian soldiers under Gaius Marius and later. Second is the weakening of civic virtue of the existing citizenship. As civic virtue is weakened, citizens become more self-interested and elect politicians based on effective bribes and handouts. Within a republic, the state gradually whittles civic virtue with economic policies and handouts, causing short-term thinking and a reliance on the state. I theorize that self-sufficiency is the greatest means of virtue generation (to be expanded on in a later post). Following the Punic Wars in Rome, the remaining farmers retreated to the city as their fields were burnt to the ground. This land was given to few elite financiers of the war and turned into rural estates as the new underclass of city-dwellers were forced into an urban reliance on the state.
For a more relevant example to contemporary times, mass immigration into the United States is causing both problems. First, citizenship is most clearly being diluted by bringing in those from countries which do not have a traditional republican background. Second, the weakening of cultural and familial bonds between citizens has degraded the civic virtue as one is less likely to support the "common good" if the common among them do not share their own values and customs.
Can a republic be revived?
Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find one good example in world history where a republic has returned better than before. Certainly, there have been examples where there was a lapse in republicanism, like surrounding Nazi Germany or a few too many times in Argentina. However, in these examples, the republic is already degraded as its citizenship remains static or is on the decline.
In the United States, civic virtue is not taught in schools or by parents. If anything, fingers are pointed in every direction and responsibility is never taken. If you ask the average American who they will vote for, they will probably tell you whoever will benefit them the most or whoever their favorite corporate news host told them to.
I see three essential components to reviving republicanism in the United States, which I will present from most to least realistic.
- Civic virtue and its importance must be brought back into education. Not just in schools, but at home too. The next generation of citizens should be learning about the classic philosophers, the examples of republicanism in history, and should be reading Cato's Letters by Trenchard and Gordon as the founding generation had.
- Citizenship must be strict and scarce. At the very least, birthright citizenship must be done away with and replaced with a more comprehensive exam. At the most, citizenship could only be gained from local organizations of other citizens who have judged someone virtuous and capable enough to earn it.
- Mass decentralization is necessary to incentivize thinking for the "common good". People tend to think for their immediate families first, extended families second, friends and community third, followed by whoever else. However, decentralizing the amorphous blob that is the United States is something that would weaken the power of D.C. and would be opposed by the elites at every step.
When I pose the question of a republican revival in the United States to friends, it is usually met with pessimism. They cannot think of any examples and assume it to be impossible. Though, we must remember that unlike most countries in the world, the United States has a rich tradition of republicanism which has made it last longer than any other modern republic. In all likelihood, the U.S. will be the last republic standing, too. This country was not built for a king, dictator, or oligarchy—whatever is left of a national soul would never allow for it. So, while we are a republic, let us at least try and be a functional one.
