Reed Fagan’s Reviews > Democracy in America > Status Update
Reed Fagan
is on page 198 of 920
Political Associations in the US.
T thinks political associations (I think as granted by the freedom of assembly) are potentially threatening in that they can freely challenge the laws of the elected officials in Congress and even encourage the breaking of laws they dislike, but ultimately in a democracy they are not fatal to the government b/c they eventually inspire better representation or voting in new leaders.
— 22 hours, 50 min ago
T thinks political associations (I think as granted by the freedom of assembly) are potentially threatening in that they can freely challenge the laws of the elected officials in Congress and even encourage the breaking of laws they dislike, but ultimately in a democracy they are not fatal to the government b/c they eventually inspire better representation or voting in new leaders.
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Reed’s Previous Updates
Reed Fagan
is on page 201 of 920
Government of the Democracy in America.
"It is...difficult for the lower classes to discern the best means of attaining [what they] desire. [M]uch acquired knowledge [is] requisite to form a just estimate...of a single individual....The ppl have neither the time nor the means for an invstgtn of this kind. Their conclsns are hastily formed.... Hence it often happens that mountebanks...are able to please the ppl...."
— 22 hours, 34 min ago
"It is...difficult for the lower classes to discern the best means of attaining [what they] desire. [M]uch acquired knowledge [is] requisite to form a just estimate...of a single individual....The ppl have neither the time nor the means for an invstgtn of this kind. Their conclsns are hastily formed.... Hence it often happens that mountebanks...are able to please the ppl...."
Reed Fagan
is on page 191 of 920
Liberty of the Press in the US.
T has much to say re: a free press, stating a democracy must have it, but he also thinks thru it much b.s. gets espoused & thus it's inherently problematic. I dislike his tone but must say he's not wrong.
On p. 189 he elaborates on one of my favorite truths of human growth: order, disorder, re-order. Worth checking out.
— May 21, 2026 08:21PM
T has much to say re: a free press, stating a democracy must have it, but he also thinks thru it much b.s. gets espoused & thus it's inherently problematic. I dislike his tone but must say he's not wrong.
On p. 189 he elaborates on one of my favorite truths of human growth: order, disorder, re-order. Worth checking out.
Reed Fagan
is on page 180 of 920
Parties in the US.
"...The rich have a hearty dislike of the demcrtc instttns of their country. The people form a power which they at once fear & despise. If the maladministration of the demcrcy ever brings about a revltnry crisis & monrchcl instttns ever become practicable in the US, the truth of what I advance will become obvious. The 2 chief weapons that parties use... are the newspapers & public associations."180
— May 18, 2026 07:00PM
"...The rich have a hearty dislike of the demcrtc instttns of their country. The people form a power which they at once fear & despise. If the maladministration of the demcrcy ever brings about a revltnry crisis & monrchcl instttns ever become practicable in the US, the truth of what I advance will become obvious. The 2 chief weapons that parties use... are the newspapers & public associations."180
Reed Fagan
is on page 175 of 920
Parties in the United States.
"America has had great parties, but has them no longer....The nation was divided between two opinions...the one tending to limit, the other to extend indefinitely, the power of the people. The conflict between these two opinions never assumed that degree of violence in America which it has frequently displayed elsewhere. Both parties...were agreed upon the most essential points..."-p.175
— May 18, 2026 06:49PM
"America has had great parties, but has them no longer....The nation was divided between two opinions...the one tending to limit, the other to extend indefinitely, the power of the people. The conflict between these two opinions never assumed that degree of violence in America which it has frequently displayed elsewhere. Both parties...were agreed upon the most essential points..."-p.175
Reed Fagan
is on page 172 of 920
The Federal Constitution.
Just finished this long-ish chapter. T is enamored of the balance of power b/w the "confederate states" and "the Union", which in his far antebellum parlance meant purely states' rights and the federal government. IMO he sees it maybe as 60:40 states:federal. We don't see it that way now; I imagine the Civil & 2nd World Wars had much to do with that. & wish I was thrilled w/ SCOTUS as T was.
— May 18, 2026 06:15PM
Just finished this long-ish chapter. T is enamored of the balance of power b/w the "confederate states" and "the Union", which in his far antebellum parlance meant purely states' rights and the federal government. IMO he sees it maybe as 60:40 states:federal. We don't see it that way now; I imagine the Civil & 2nd World Wars had much to do with that. & wish I was thrilled w/ SCOTUS as T was.
Reed Fagan
is on page 161 of 920
The Federal Constitution.
"The love of country, which ought to check these destructive agencies, is not stronger in a large than in a small republic. Great wealth and extreme poverty, capital cities of large size, a lax morality, selfishness, and antagonism of interests are the dangers which almost invariably arise from the magnitude of states."-p.161
— May 17, 2026 01:57PM
"The love of country, which ought to check these destructive agencies, is not stronger in a large than in a small republic. Great wealth and extreme poverty, capital cities of large size, a lax morality, selfishness, and antagonism of interests are the dangers which almost invariably arise from the magnitude of states."-p.161
Reed Fagan
is on page 152 of 920
The Federal Constitution.
"The President, who exercises a limited power, may err without causing great mischief in the state. Congress may decide amiss without destroying the Union, b/c the electoral body...may cause it to retract its decision.... But if the Supreme Court is ever composed of imprudent or bad men, the union may be plunged into anarchy or civil war."-p.152
— May 16, 2026 06:08PM
"The President, who exercises a limited power, may err without causing great mischief in the state. Congress may decide amiss without destroying the Union, b/c the electoral body...may cause it to retract its decision.... But if the Supreme Court is ever composed of imprudent or bad men, the union may be plunged into anarchy or civil war."-p.152
Reed Fagan
is on page 126 of 920
"The President is placed beside the legislature like an inferior and dependent power." - p.124
Doesn't seem so now.
— May 13, 2026 10:39AM
Doesn't seem so now.
