Not long ago, a very bright political commentator, Ben Domenech, made a frank statement. “Consider the possibility we are led by idiots.” He has a point. You can listen to his thoughts here, where he lays out in 2023 the idiocy of the Biden era. Sadly, in recent years, America has produced leaders who fall well short of the leadership expectations of our Founders.
When our nation was established in 1776 and further refined as a constitutional republic in 1787, following the adoption of our Constitution, we were not led by idiots—quite the opposite. Our leaders then were men influenced by the Enlightenment era. They devoured the Greek and Roman classics and were enlivened by the brilliance of Enlightenment writers.
- Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was an English philosopher and scientist who explored the scientific method involving observation, experimentation, and inductive reasoning, all designed to expand human knowledge.
- René Descartes (1596–1650), a French philosopher and mathematician who coined the phrase “Cogito ergo sum” or “I think, therefore I am.” That idea became foundational in modern philosophy, which saw value in doubt and deductive reasoning.
- John Locke (1632–1704), another English political philosopher, advanced the essential idea that governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed and that natural rights like life, liberty, and property are inherent in our creation as humans.
- Montesquieu (1689–1755), a French political thinker, proposed the separation of powers in government, influencing modern democratic systems.
- Voltaire (1694–1778) of France was a philosopher who advocated for freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and separation of church and state.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), another French philosopher, focused on the idea of the social contract and popular sovereignty, and how both influenced democratic thought.
- David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher who applied reason to history, religion, and politics, while emphasizing skepticism and empiricism.
- Adam Smith (1723–1790), a fellow Scot economist and philosopher, is credited with founding modern economic theory in his The Wealth of Nations. Smith promoted free markets and the “invisible hand” whereby economies work best when there is less government intervention in free trade, both domestically and internationally.
- Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher who systematized Enlightenment thought, emphasized ethics, autonomy, and the role of reason.
- And finally, Englishman and American patriot Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was a political thinker whose Common Sense and The Rights of Man inspired our revolutionary movement.
Our founders, especially Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Patrick Henry, drew substantially from these remarkable thinkers as they shaped and perfected America’s founding. Were they with us today, 250 years later, to see what has become of the nation that they founded, they would be stunned. To be sure, they would be amazed by our scientific and social progress. They would be in awe of how the United States would rise to be a superpower, possessing political, military, economic, and informational abilities that far outstrip any other nation in world history, indeed put men on the moon. Yet they would be alarmed.
What would they think about New York City being led by an ideologue who despises private property, the rule of law, and a common American identity? How would they regard the mayor of Seattle, Washington—a state they hardly envisioned—who is gleeful that people of wealth are fleeing her city when faced with raw wealth confiscation?
What would those Virginians think of the current Governor of their Commonwealth, who brazenly disregards her responsibility to hold criminal illegal aliens to account when they ravage our streets and kill innocent people, even while courts release offenders to commit more crimes?
What would they say of a Congress that refuses to fund the government over puerile and selfish issues? What would they think of Federal judges who the US Supreme Court routinely overrules for rendering aggressive activist decisions that obstruct the Chief Executive in his Constitutional duties?
How would they view people who openly call for the assassination of political leaders with whom they disagree? How would they react to the gutter-like language used in political discourse, as if cursing is acceptable instead of decent vocabulary? What would they say about the rise of a political class that acts more like an aristocracy than citizens who seek election to serve the people, not to accrue power so that they can enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers?
And what would they say of us, the voters, who routinely return such people to the halls of power? Ben Domenech is right. We should consider the possibility that we are being led by idiots. Yet so too we are acting doltishly by putting them in power in the first instance. I suspect they would say to us, consider the Classical and Enlightenment thinkers, and stop the idiocy.
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