Public Opinion — Chapter XVII The Self-Contained Community

1. 1. Hobbes argued that sovereign authorities, due to their independence, are in a state of perpetual war with each other, like gladiators.
2. 2. Machiavelli described a world where people judge by appearances, leading to perpetual strife among self-centered groups.
3. 3. Jefferson believed that independent small farmers were the ideal democratic citizens, as they were virtuous and self-sufficient.
4. 4. The democratic ideal, as formulated by Jefferson, assumed a self-contained community where all citizens are omnicompetent and public-spirited.
5. 5. Democracies historically sought isolation and self-sufficiency to avoid foreign entanglements that threaten spontaneous self-government.
6. 6. Insecurity and crises are incompatible with democracy because they require quick decisions by a few, undermining mass participation.
7. 7. The American political mind relied on legalism and fixed principles to compensate for lack of direct experience with the wider world.
8. 8. Democratic theory assumed that truth could be obtained through free discussion within a homogeneous community with shared facts and morals.