Chesterton on democracy

Certain other blogging concerns have occupied my thoughts over the past year (see: danielsfamilyupdate.blogspot.com), so I have given no thought to this site. Now, however, with the advent of my own Twitter account, and corresponding frustrations with its limitations, I've determined to renew my interest here so as to link longer quotes and comments. I'll start with a bang--G.K. Chesterton.

Though I don't believe that democracy is essential for a thriving Christianity, I do believe that a thriving Christianity will, in this world, compel a vibrant democracy. In a chapter from his book, Orthodoxy, entitled, The Ethics of Elfland, Chesterton reveals some of his own thoughts on democracy that I feel bear some reflection.

The principle of democracy as I mean it can be stated in two propositions. The first is this: that the things common to all men are more important than the things peculiar to any men. Ordinary things are more valuable than extraordinary; nay, they are more extraordinary...And the second principle is merely this: that the political instinct or desire is one of these things which they hold in common...In short, the democratic faith is this: that the most terribly important things must be left to ordinary men themselves--the mating of the sexes, the rearing of the young, the laws of the state. This is democracy; and in this I have always believed.

Of course, this is a snipet of a rather lengthier comment (pp. 46-47 for those who are interested) but it draws to our attention several things. First, democracy places union and unity above diversity and multiculturalism. Lately, our country has pursued a course in contradiction to this, and I believe has been undermining our system in the process. Second, the opinion and the ballot of the common man is of greater value and merit than any amount of expert control. This is among several reasons why Christianity produces citizens who are, at their core, proponents of limited government--of, by, and for the people.