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The Electoral College

The Electoral College was established by our Founding Fathers to ensure that the election of the President would be a deliberate, thoughtful, and fair process. The Federalist Papers, a series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of the Constitution, explain that the Electoral College was designed to balance the needs of the larger and smaller states, as well as to prevent the tyranny of the majority. By giving each state a number of electors equal to its number of Senators and Representatives in Congress, the Electoral College ensured that smaller states would have a voice in the election process. Additionally, the Electoral College was intended to prevent the possibility of a demagogue or unfit candidate being elected by the general populace. This is because the electors are chosen by the people, but ultimately make the final decision on who becomes president. The Founding Fathers believed that this system would promote stability and prevent the harmful effects of mob rule and demagoguery. Overall, the Electoral College is an important and essential part of our democratic system, and its positive impact on our nation cannot be overstated.

Many of our Founding Fathers were wary of direct democracy and the potential for the “tyranny of the majority” to infringe on individual rights. In their writings, they expressed concerns about the dangers of the popular vote and the need for a system like the Electoral College to prevent the election of an unqualified or unfit candidate. In Federalist No. 68, Alexander Hamilton argued that the Electoral College would act as a safeguard against “cabal, intrigue, and corruption,” and ensure that the president was chosen by “men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station.” James Madison, in Federalist No. 10, cautioned against the dangers of factions and the potential for the majority to oppress the minority. He believed that the Electoral College would help prevent factions from gaining too much power and ensure that the president represented the interests of the entire country, rather than just one particular group. In summary, our Founding Fathers believed that the Electoral College was a necessary component of our democratic system, as it provided a balanced and fair method of electing the president while protecting against the potential dangers of direct democracy.

The Electoral College is a crucial mechanism to prevent the oppression and enslavement of the minority through tyranny, corruption and demagoguery.

Tyranny...of the Majority?

The corrupting influence of crowds and thick population density is a well-documented phenomenon that can lead to various social pathologies. In densely populated cities (and entities that emulate them, such as social media), individuals may develop narcissistic and Machiavellian tendencies as a means of survival in a highly competitive environment. The Mouse Utopia experiments conducted by John Calhoun in the 1960s demonstrated this effect on a smaller scale, where overcrowding led to increased aggression, sexual perversion and other abnormal behaviors in mice — behaviors that never manifest in their natural, country environment. Similarly, humans may also experience a breakdown of social norms and an increase in deviant behavior in densely populated areas. It is important to note that individuals are not necessarily responsible for these pathologies, as they arise from the natural law of mass social density. Therefore, it is crucial to address this issue by implementing policies that mitigate the negative effects on society from cities (and other entities that manifest this negative social phenomenon) to prevent exploitation by bad actors.

Mass density manifests social pathologies, leading to deviant behavior and a breakdown of social norms.

The Bane of Tribalism.

Tribalism is a natural human tendency to form groups and identify with others who share similar beliefs, values, and customs. However, this groupthink can often lead to the creation of ideologies and institutions that perpetuate division, privilege, and identitarianism. Political cohesion can also arise from peer pressure and in-group preferences, leading to a reinforcement of tribal identities and a reluctance to consider alternative perspectives. This can lead to a toxic cycle of polarization, where group identity and loyalty become more important than seeking common ground or finding solutions to shared problems. Tribalism can manifest in politics through the formation of parties that align along tribal lines. The scourge of political polarization further entrenches these divisions, making it harder to foster a culture of empathy, critical thinking, and open-mindedness.

The conflict between pathological cities — where distrust and selfishness is the common currency — and the countryside can be seen as an extension of the tribalism that pervades society. Urban areas degrade into elitist, disconnected, and morally lax cabals that sneer at their concocted enemy: the hinterland. Seen as backward, close-minded, and prone to prejudice, the city-state must keep its subjects ever fearful of this approaching, encroaching menace. This bizarre worldview creates a cultural and political divide that perpetuates misunderstanding, resentment, and conflict, leading to further polarization culminating in electoral politics, where rural and urban are at odds: Red vs. Blue.

The true divide in American is country vs. city. It always has been; it always will be.

The Hero of the Constitution: State Legislatures.

The Founding Fathers of the United States wanted the Senators to be selected by State Legislators for several reasons. One of the primary reasons was to ensure that the states had a direct say in the federal government’s decision-making process. In Federalist Paper No. 62, Madison argues that the Senate’s election by state legislatures would give the states a more prominent role in the federal government’s operation, which would help prevent the federal government from encroaching on states’ powers. Madison further asserts that this arrangement would also provide a safeguard against corruption and improper conduct by elected officials. The Founding Fathers believed that selecting Senators in this manner would promote accountability and better serve the interests of the states and their citizens.

Article I, Section 3 of the US Constitution refers to the state legislatures selecting Senators. Specifically, it states: “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years.”

The Founding Fathers were concerned about several potential issues with the Senate as opposed to the House of Representatives. One of their main concerns was that the Senate, with its smaller size and longer terms, might be more susceptible to corruption and improper influence than the larger House of Representatives. They also feared that Senators might become too closely tied to national interests and lose sight of the needs and concerns of their own states. By having Senators selected by state legislatures, the Founding Fathers believed that the Senate would be more accountable to the states and less prone to corruption or undue influence from outside interests. Additionally, they believed that the Senate’s role as a check on the House of Representatives and the executive branch required a more deliberate and thoughtful selection process, which could be provided by state legislatures rather than direct popular election.

The selection of Senators by state legislatures was designed to prevent corruption, special interest capture, and nationalism.

The Villain of the Constitution: Woodrow Wilson.

Along with early 20th Century Progressives, Woodrow Wilson (who served as President of the United States from 1913 to 1921) pushed for the passage of the 17th Amendment, which provided for the direct election of Senators. Wilson was a strong advocate for bureaucratic authoritarianism, which he believed would lead to more efficient and effective governance. His vision for a more centralized federal government was reflected in his support for the direct election of Senators, which he believed would strengthen the power of the federal government and reduce the influence of state-level interests.

"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures...”

Wilson’s ideas about bureaucratic authoritarianism are reflected in the book “Philip Dru Administrator: A Story of Tomorrow," which describes a future America where a charismatic leader named Philip Dru overthrows the existing political system and creates a centralized government run by experts who are free from the influence of special interests. Wilson saw this as a model for the kind of governance he wanted to see in the United States and believed that the direct election of Senators was an important step towards achieving this goal. As a result, Senators are now elected through statewide campaigns that often involve significant amounts of fundraising, advertising, and media attention. Candidates for Senate are now much more likely to focus on national issues and appeal to a national audience, rather than just to state lawmakers because well-funded, out-of-state interest groups are able to spend large amounts of money on campaigns.

With the direct election of Senators, every Senatorial election is a national election.

Cities Dominate Elections.

Cities have always enjoyed an advantage over the country due to proximity and density, which allows for easy access to polling locations. With the explosion of election reforms due to the COVID pandemic — many blatantly Unconstitutional because they bypassed state legislatures — cities have greater resources for mass ballot mailings and voter outreach, which can help to increase voter turnout and engagement — from drop boxes to early voting months before an election day and grace periods after — cities now enjoy an absolute advantage.

Cities determine Senatorial elections due to density, proximity and groupthink.

The density of cities (universities, social media, etc.) can create a phenomenon known as groupthink, in which individuals within a community tend to conform to the prevailing views and opinions of the group, often with very little dissension. This can be particularly true in urban areas, where individuals are more likely to interact with those who share similar views and experiences. The resulting homogeneity can lead to a lack of diversity in thought and opinion, as individuals are less likely to be exposed to dissenting perspectives. Additionally, the pressure to conform to group norms can be particularly strong in densely populated areas, where social interactions are more frequent and immediate. This can lead to a situation in which individuals are less likely to express their own opinions or challenge the views of others, for fear of social ostracism or other forms of punishment. While the density of cities can offer many advantages in terms of access to resources and opportunities, it is important to be aware of the potential downsides, such as the risk of groupthink and conformity.

With division deepening, a national divorce looms. Division is always the result of a power imbalance.

The Arcadian College

Where Are We?

And like religion, political parties, and sports teams, culture is largely inherited. And culture is formed by circumstance, rarely by careful thought and consideration. So we revisit the Mouse Utopia experiments: density warps perception; density creates pathologies. This city culture cries out and demands representation, and one of the two parties is going to cater to it in order to amass political power. Democrat or Republican, it doesn’t matter. Call it fate as to which took up the mantle (though an argument can be made, with the Democrats’ litany of atrocities — slavery, segregation, eugenics, abortion — that they would naturally rally around the sins of the city). It’s important to fully understand the implications that density poses for the sparse minority opposition.

Our Founding Fathers were highly distrustful of direct democracy and the popular vote. The reason why the House of Representatives is called the “People’s House” is due to the fact that the people elect their representatives who are closest to them: the elected are actually from the district. The modern axiom “all politics is local” simply recognizes a fact of human nature, well known — and endorsed — by the Founders, so that’s why the popular vote was provided. But the further the office is removed from the local communities, the more the Founding Fathers attenuated the popular vote to ensure thoughtful, informed decision making: Senators are to be selected by state legislatures; the president is to be selected by the Electoral College.

But along came ignorant, haughty, corrupt, and vile (Wilson was a racist) politicians who thought they knew better. They did not know better. America’s division has grown wider ever since, and it’s only going to get worse. America seems broken precisely because the Senate has become a government unto itself: populated by nationalists, supported by the clueless — obsessed over issues that rarely affect them — and answerable only to the most powerful special interests.

The Cities Make Blue. The Country Makes Red.

Blue, red, green, yellow, purple: the color doesn’t matter. The point is that the environment heavily influences culture. If you move to the city, over time, you’re likely to adopt city concerns and priorities. The same goes for moving to the country. Certainly, some issues overlap, but rarely. This is because the pathologies that manifest in dense social settings have little to do with reality on the ground. One might ask, “America has always had cities, so why is the divide so bad now?” Our cities are getting worse because of a “perfect storm”: the confluence of unearned affluence, technology, and a consolidated, hypercompetitive media that has created and promulgated a morally destructive hive mind, all on top of the already corrupting influence of socially dense environments spurred by a free-will failure to make the appropriate sacrifice for one’s own benefit. Unchecked centralization only leads to greater centralization, and tyranny looms on the horizon.

The Spirits of Cain vs. Abel.

You may be asking, “What is it about density that ruins so many people?” Three key words explain it: low opportunity costs. This means that in socially dense environments, individuals have a plethora of encounters that provide them with chances to get out of doing something, or to do something they shouldn’t. The individual becomes selfish because it’s easier to steal than to create; the individual becomes narcissistic, seeking attention, standing out, and feeling accomplished at scheming in order to wiggle out of responsibility. The individual becomes paranoid, and phobias emerge because people are generally distrustful. We are all far from perfect, and the presence of many people builds an unnatural and distorted perception of others. Taking a page out of Scripture, we call this phenomenon the Spirit of Cain: a man who freely refused to make the appropriate sacrifice, ultimately culminating in the sacrifice of another – his murder of Abel.

In sparse environments, the inverse is true because there’s no scapegoat. With so few people around, who is one to blame if a chore isn’t completed, or a new problem identified and fixed? This is what it means to have high opportunity costs and reinforces the seminal point: the family is the building block of any stable society because its relatively small size promotes, rather than destroys, cohesion. And a family in the country (sparse²) is the best of both worlds because the structural inability to enslave another positively motivates the appropriate sacrifice. It’s the model that the Democratic-Republicans (that’s Thomas Jefferson and the precursor of the modern, urban Democrat Party) modeled the country after: agrarianism. This is proof positive that throughout time and across the political spectrum, cities have always been seen as “the problem.” They are inherently centralized power entities and they create social pathologies that, left unchecked, destroy civilizations. History shows this; our Founders feared this. That “this” is precisely the government Wilson sought to establish and did: rule by a disaffected elite free from having to answer to the common sense and wisdom of the God-fearing American experience. The Senate has devolved into a copy of Rome’s, now completely controlled by special interests, operating to please its various donor classes as opposed to the needs of their respective states.

The popular election of Senators is an ongoing, growing, utter disaster.

Democracy Or Republic?

With increasing authoritarian attacks on the Electoral College, America has to decide what it wants to be: a democracy, where representatives come from and are chosen by the whole population and join the long list of failed states on the ash heap of history, or a republic, where leaders are chosen primarily through an attenuation process. Democracy creates a population of the disaffected: citizens know little about local issues, candidates, judges, referenda, and representatives — the very social and political components that affect them the most — because national elections steal undue attention. And since national offices are so far removed from the people, their voices become increasingly silenced with distance. The mantra that “nothing ever seems to change” is precisely the result of the people becoming so far removed from their advocates, in large part due to special interests seizing control of what should be state candidates of the people and transforming them into national pawns of their donors. Part of the attenuation process is mollifying, which is necessary when emotion can run high during times of national distress. The side in power fails on its own merit or suffers some unlucky catastrophe, and the side out of power hates them. Vice versa. With direct action, hot blood isn’t radiated and cooled through deliberative processes. Over time, both sides grow further and further apart, creating a schism that can’t be mended. It’s the precise recipe for the death of a nation.

An Electoral College for the States.

The best solution to a problem is to simply undo the cause. However, repealing the 17th Amendment is an uphill battle for the future. The good news is that a convention isn’t required because changes to election law — a constitutional power granted to state legislatures — can produce the same effect since state legislatures strongly reflect the makeup of a state’s wide range of sentiments, most especially those of an otherwise colonized minority. State legislatures are comprised of districts across the entire state, erasing urban privilege entirely. By taking a page out of the Constitution and using it as our guide, a simplified derivative of the Electoral College can be used to determine senatorial election outcomes. By assigning a single point to each district, the winner could be determined by the majority of district wins rather than the majority of the popular vote, which otherwise favors the cities.

Changing the manner in which Senatorial winners are determined from the popular vote to who wins the majority of districts properly emulates the effect of selection by State Legislatures intended by the Founders.

While Congress reserves the Constitutional power to override state election law, it would take extraordinary circumstances for such interference, such as stated by Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist No. 59, state legislatures might “at any moment annihilate [the U.S. Government], by neglecting to provide for the choice of persons to administer its affairs.” And with the obvious unconstitutional actions of state supreme courts, namely that of Pennsylvania, changing election law without any counter by the Supreme Court, it is highly unlikely that not only Congress but the courts will take any action. The 17th Amendment itself has no power in this regard either as it provides for Senators “elected by the people," as juxaposed to selected by State Legislatures, which goes to the casting of ballots not how thoses ballots are to be tabulated.

The Electoral College counters majoritarian tyranny of the States; the Arcadian College counters the cities.

The State Legislatures are the heroes of the Constitution. It’s time to counter the authoritarian attack on the states and their citizenry by restoring a proper republican form of government. Correct the power embalance: enact the Arcadian College today.