Elections or Efficiency?

Yes, democracy is an inefficient method of running a country, just as capitalism leads to inequality in the distribution of wealth. But, what else do we have? What are our alternatives? - Fascism, Communism, Military Junta, etc. Although the "American System" may not be the most efficient method, it has a well-rounded balance of qualities. Elections keep people complacent, and executive decree gets things done. Social welfare provides a safety net; neo-liberal transnational corporate capitalism generates wealth.

It is in our system, the American way, that the world has seen the most success. The United States has managed to maintain a fairly patriotic population while also nourishing rugged individualism; developed the most powerful military in human history, while also avoiding a police state. It is in these examples of American society that humankind can truly see the beauty of our social framework, although, we are unique. We do not have a feudal past like the Old World; from the start we were built a strong foundation of republican and laissez-faire ideals. We do not have a noble class; instead we have a ruling, wealthy class that earned their way to the top through hard work and ingenuity. We were blessed with a vast store of natural resources and land for economic expansion. In other words, we are very lucky. Chance played out in the American favor.

Most parts of the world that have experimented with capitalism and democracy - two things that go hand in hand - have descended into chaos and poverty. Simply, because they were not ready for the responsibility that comes with the freedom to elect, to purchase and own, to administrate equal justice, etc. When people are ready to free (i.e. the Iranians, the Cubans, the North Koreans, the Sub-Saharan Africans, etc.) they will choose to be so. The Americans seized their future in their own hands and took the wheel of fate, as did the French, the British, and much of the developed Western world. Freedom is a choice, the choice to revolutionize.