Restoration of the Republic: The Jeffersonian Ideal in 21st-Century America

by Gary Hart

Rarely does scholarship anticipate the most dramatic events of the moment. In this timely work Gary Hart does just that, arguing for the restoration of republican virtues and for homeland security as an important first step. The American democratic republic has from its founding been a paradoxical success. Simultaneously attached to state and national power, citizens' rights and citizens' duties, American democracy has uniquely turned its reliance on consent from the governed into a powerful governing of the consenting. In a remarkable political feat, America's founders combined mixed government, the language of popular sovereignty and a self-conscious emphasis on checks and balances to forge a republic that has weathered the test of time. The complex realities of the twenty-first century, however, have fundamentally challenged the underpinnings of this enduring American experiment, repeatedly exposing the tensions at the heart of America's mixed system of government. What then
is the nature of an American republic in an age of democracy? How can the democratic values of social justice and equality be balanced with republican values of civic duty and popular sovereignty? Bringing to light a long-neglected aspect of Thomas Jefferson's political philosophy--the "ward republic"--Gary Hart here offers a wholly original blueprint for republican restoration in which every citizen can participate democratically in the governing of his or her own life. Of crucial relevance for contemporary society, including its startlingly prescient plan for homeland security, Restoration of the Republic provides original insights into issues of national urgency as well as the timeless questions that bedevil the American democratic experiment.

Genres: Political Science

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Gary Hart represented the state of Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 1975 until 1987. He is the Wirth Chair professor at the University of Colorado, chairs both the Council for a Livable World and the American Security Project, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and he was cochair of the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century. The commission performed the most comprehensive review of national security since 1947, predicted the terrorist attacks on America, and proposed a sweeping overhaul of U.S. national security structures and policies for the post-Cold War century and the age of terrorism. Senator Hart is the author of 17 books, including The Courage of Our Convictions: A Manifesto for Democrats, The Shield and the Cloak: Security in the Commons, and God and Caesar in America: An Essay on Religion and Politics.
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Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great attempt to apply Jeffersonian ideals to the modern world. His ideas are a great step in the right direction, but not quite far enough in my opinion. Jeffersonian democracy flat out says that the government should be extremely limited in nature only serving as a protection for the people's natural rights, foreign diplomacy, and enforcing free trade. Otherwise all other functions of government should be decentralized to the states and People. Gary Hart in this book does not go nearly that far, he believes in retaining a strong federal government that functions as the brain and decentralizing the function of several aspects of government such as homeland security, public education, and welfare/poverty programs. So while Hart's proposals in this book are inspired by Jeffersonian democracy, they are far, far away from Jeffersonian democracy's pure ideal of extensive decentralization.

What I agreed most with his book is the adoption of Jeffersonian ward republicanism into American political order. Ward republicanism is where the local government is divided into wards with a town hall where direct democracy is utilized instead of representative democracy. I completely agree and also would add to this idea that direct democratic rights of recall, initiative, and referendum should be incorporated into all state constitutions, so both local government would be direct democracy and the state government would be a hybrid direct/representative democracy.

As for homeland security, he wants to decentralize the management and duties of it down to the national guard and local militias which I strongly agree with. However in his model the federal government retains the ultimate decision making authority over the militia, I disagree with him on that, I believe that every state should pass a "defend the guard" bill which removes all the president's authority over the national guard and decentralizes it down to the governors and local government, except if Congress makes a formal declaration of war in which case the federal government would have authority. The libertarian party is pushing this bill in several states. Hart's idea is a step in the right direction though.

As for public education, Hart wants the federal government to set standards and guidelines for the nation, but to allow all the local governments to operate and manage public education on their own so each community can tailor fit and experiment what education is best for their kids. So once again the federal government is the brain setting the standards and the operation is decentralized to the local government. A step in the right direction.

As for social and welfare programs, Hart also calls for decentralization, where the federal government sets the standards and the local government organizes the resources to tailor fit what is best for the community. So poverty relief programs such as food stamps, unemployment, welfare, elderly aid programs would be managed by the local government.