Could America one day become an autocracy?
It is common for any state to expand its powers and involvement in the lives of citizens. The USA is no exception in this regard. But if the expansion of the state is not resisted, the chances of turning the country into an autocracy increase. I think you know this form of government when one person has unlimited power.
Based on this post, you could understand that the government in the United States is now trying to regulate public opinion, and for the last 5 years it has clearly limited freedom of speech on the Internet. To achieve this, all the tools are being used to the maximum extent possible, probably more than ever before. These include intelligence agencies, private corporations, and individual influential people.
America still has fair courts, turnover in power, and democracy, despite countless attempts to change it, especially over the last 20 years. It is difficult for autocracy to take root here because of the foundation laid by the founding fathers. The USA is, after all, one of the oldest living countries - in most others, over the past couple of centuries there have already been revolutions, collapses, and unifications. In America, everything is more stable in this regard. Why? Because there is no comprehensive government expansion.
In order to do their job (well, and to sit longer in the bureaucratic chair), it is important for politicians to constantly increase the strength of their structures. They want to get more money from the budget, and for this they need taxes from ordinary citizens. Let’s say if you run the FBI, then to expand you need more agents, which means funding from citizens’ taxes. Do citizens want this? Of course not. Even the creation of the FBI itself at one time (1930s) was difficult, because the Americans struggled with the creation of new government organizations. There was such a criminal as John Dillinger - he robbed dozens of banks in different parts of America. The police could not do anything with him, since they did not have the right to work in another state from another jurisdiction. As you remember, the laws of one state can be super different from another. And now, thanks to the finally adopted reforms of the FBI, they were able to catch him.
The state is gradually expanding in all countries and, of course, not only at the whim of politicians, but also due to necessity. In the end, all this leads to the fact that business and the state interact closely. Moreover, lobbying of interests is allowed in the USA - here private companies legally buy the opinion of an official on a particular issue for their own benefit. Nevertheless, no matter how hard a state, party or any person tries to expand their influence, it will be extremely difficult for them to gain absolute power. Why? America has a system of checks and balances. Here it is observed in fact, and not just formally stated in the Constitution. The branches of government are truly independent of each other, that’s all. For example, the courts can easily make a decision that does not suit either the president or Congress at all. This time we were even convinced several times in 2022. And secondly, all parameters at all levels are constantly changing, and it’s impossible to keep track of them all. Every 4 years there are presidential elections, and with the help of electors, every 2 years there are elections to Congress. At the same time, the House of Representatives is renewed in its entirety, and the Senate in thirds and for a period of 6 years. Plus, the governor, vice-governor, mayor, prosecutor general, and so on are constantly elected locally. There are a lot of nuances and bureaucracy, but that’s the point.
So, who should we thank for the fact that America is not in danger of autocracy? To the Founding Fathers of the USA! To be honest, I'm just shocked that almost 240 years have passed since they created the country. It is still the largest democracy, and even with the oldest constitution in the world. Imagine, they came up with a system that cannot be broken. I am simply amazed by the scale of their thoughts and understanding of the future. The world literally becomes different every 10 years, at least due to technological progress, and the founding fathers managed to predict so many different moments in the political system. Just a delight!
Author: Anton Nayanzin
