The Relationship between Freedom and Democracy

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 435 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  The Relationship between Freedom and Democracy (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

What is the relationship between freedom and democracy? We often use these terms interchangeably equating liberty with democracy. We then compound the error by insisting that democracy automatically produces freedom, and that, thanks to democracy, government coercion is no longer a threat to liberty because we get to vote on who will coerce us. We tend to forget that the United States was born as a republic, not a democracy and that the Constitution was designed to advance liberty, not democracy. The Framers of the Constitution sought to protect individual rights from encroachment by government and from fellow citizens. The Constitution’s intent was to govern the government, not the people. As Alexander Hamilton explained: “We are now forming a republican form of government. Real Liberty is not found in the extremes of democracy, but in moderate government.”  I suspect most of us are surprised to learn that the word “democracy” was deliberately avoided by the Framers, and does not appear, in the Declaration of Independence or in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers were deeply concerned with the problems inherent in a tyranny of the majority and went to great lengths to design a federal government not based on the will of the majority. To the Framers, the purpose of government was to secure for citizens John Locke’s trilogy of rights to life, liberty, and property.  I suspect also, that most of us are surprised to learn how, in the fog of World War I, we began to break with the letter and spirit of the Constitution suspending property rights with wide-scale nationalizations and more. The Sedition Act of 1918 blatantly undermined the Bill of Rights by criminalizing anti- government expressions. The Sedition Act forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government. Those convicted under the Act generally received sentences of imprisonment of 5 to 20 years. In those turbulent years, radical political activist and novelist Upton Sinclair and others were actually arrested for reading in public the Bill of Rights. Reportedly, the arresting officer proclaimed: "We'll have none of that Constitution stuff."  But it was during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency that the concepts of freedom and democracy were corrupted beyond recognition in American politics. Roosevelt introduced the aberrant argument that freedom hinges on government. In this view of democracy, as long as government responds to the people, it does not matter how much the government restricts freedoms; the people are free. In his second inaugural address, President Roosevelt proudly proclaimed: “In these last four years, we have made the exercise of all power more democratic; for we have begun to bring private autocratic powers into their proper subordination to the public’s government.”  Contrast Roosevelt’s understanding of the role of government with Thomas Jefferson’s: “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”  There is indeed a connection between freedom and democracy, but they are not one and the same. The Human Freedom Index 2016 -a collaborative report of the Cato Institute and other organizations- documents a strong 0.77 correlation in the complex relationship between freedom and democracy. The report offers scholars a rich empirical environment of 159 territories to examine if there is a relationship of causation or support between the two variables, and if that relationship is strengthen or weakened over time.  The United Stares is still a democracy, but its human freedom ranking has declined to number 16 in economic freedoms and an embarrassing 28th position in personal freedoms. Hong Kong, a territory that has never experienced democracy, ranks number 1 in economic freedoms and 19 in personal freedoms.  When democratic governance abuses majority rule as a replacement for personal choice, individual freedom is subverted. We have to learn not to confuse the self-government of democratic majority rule, with the self-government of our own lives.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now