Today, there is a very large threat to the existence Western democracies. This threat is not that of some foreign power or ideology, but the complacency of the people within. It is no secret that politics in the entire western world are becoming increasingly more polarized by the day, general civil unrest is becoming more and more commonplace, why is this?

There is a distinct lack of civic virtue, this is true in politicians and regular people alike. As I am American I will describe this problem and prescribe possible solutions from an American perspective.


America was born from revolution, the stark refusal to accept the authority of European governments. As such, the founding documents were written with the assumption that the idea that freedom is fought for an earned would be in the public conscience indefinitely. But that isn't the case; we have been spoiled by the prosperity and freedom of our society and forgotten what our forefathers sacrificed to achieve it. We have convinced ourselves that we are entitled to our civil rights, like a spoiled child feels entitled to their toys. There is a severe lack of awareness of the responsibility that is tied to having these rights. When rights are given at birth what reason is there for people to believe that they should accept any responsibility? Of course, through upbringing this can be changed, but in a society as free as ours, how are we to change that without embracing totalitarianism?

The solution is to stop viewing society as how things aught to be and start looking at things as they are. We need to embrace political realism.

We are now witnessing the results of a lack of any practical means of instilling civic virtues in the population. We always hear that people aught to be civil and we aught to avoid violence and we aught to be honest. Our politicians aught to act in the interest of the people and aught to place the public's interest over their own personal interest. But the simple fact is, people don't do what they aught to do. We are not inherently moral beings, and without any individualized reason to be moral, we do not act morally.

Whenever we vote in a democracy, we are using force, we vote because we want to impose our will on society, and with our will embraced by government, we want to enforce our will through threat of violence. We vote on a law -> The law is accepted by government -> The government enforces the law via threat of fines/imprisonment -> If one refuses to accept this willingly, they are forced to via violence. This is the source of the responsibility that comes with democracy, specifically the right to vote.

The issue that has arisen in Western democracies is a result of people irresponsibly seeking to impose their will on society to force it to conform with their own individual self interests.

So what is a possible solution to all this? How can we practically instill civil virtues within the population without creating a totalitarian state?

Well first, we don't need to instill these virtues in everyone, just those who wish to impose their will on society either through voting or holding public office. So a solution could be to abolish universal suffrage, and devise an open, non-coercive voluntary system that would instill this sense of responsibility within those individuals that choose to enter this system, who upon graduating from this system, would be awarded the right to vote and hold public office. This system would not be an ideological indoctrination program, but a contract of public service that would teach people individual responsibility. One option could be military service, including but not limited to combat roles, police force, firefighters, and paramedics could also be included, in addition to any non-physically demanding civil services for those who are physically disabled. The important part is that this system have a strong, military-style hierarchy within it that demands a high level of responsibility from every member.

The resulting government should be small, and libertarian, so that those who do not wish to enter this system are free to live their lives as they choose, and pursue their own personal interests in any way they see fit. The supreme authority should remain rule of law, where all members of society, voting or not, are recognized equally in all rights besides voting and holding public office. Government should have little influence over peoples personal lives.

The ideal outcome is that only those who are willing to take on significant personal responsibility and make sacrifices in order to serve the public should be allowed to impose their will on the public, and anyone who is willing to take on this responsibility is given the opportunity.