democracy

A system that offers voters limited electoral choice has the potential to undermine democracy. When candidates don’t face primary opponents or general election challengers, it is harder to hold them accountable to the will of voters. The lack of political competition can have broader implications: when compromise becomes scarce, governance suffers.

The Founding Fathers believed the main role of public education was not workforce development, but to create citizens prepared for informed participation in American democracy. Without this, they feared the nation might dissolve. Never have the founders looked more prescient.