- Current Issue SIGN IN to access the Harper’s archive ALERT:
Usernames and passwords from the old Harpers.org will no longer
work. To create a new password and add or verify your email
address, please sign in to customer care and select
Email/Password Information. (To learn about the change, please
read our FAQ.) From “What Democracy? The case for abolishing the
United States Senate,” by Richard N. Rosenfeld in the May 2004
Harper’s. Americans believe in the idea of democracy. We fight
wars in its name and daily pledge allegiance to its principles.
Curiously, the fervor with which we profess our faith in
democracy is matched only by the contempt with which we regard
our politics and politicians. How interesting that we should so
dislike the process that we claim to revere. Perhaps, however,
our unhappiness with politics points to something significant;
perhaps Americans dislike the daily reality of their political
system precisely because it falls short of being a proper
democracy. Indeed, in the last presid