Introduction: The Landscape and Implanting an Experimental Democracy in the New World

Can democracy be birthed in our civilizational time? Is democracy compatible with judicial review? The work will explore the foundations of American democracy and in particular the American-British models over judicial review. This chapter provides the lay of the land or the landscape for the book. As is in the American system, and systems all around the globe, the power of property in the modern functioning of any political organization is the critical matrix. The Chapter explores whether it is possible to have a “thick” democracy over a “thin” one. It will further explore the relationship between republicanism and democracy—whether republicanism is a watered-down system of aristocracy. The role of the Supreme Court in the American system of government will be explored, with a particular focus on it power of judicial review. How did the Supreme Court acquire such a power? And whether it is proper for the Court to use such a power? And most importantly, where do We the People fit into the political system? The work will use the British system as a comparative to the American one. The Chapter will also introduce the role of monopoly power in the governance of the American system and the power of modern of monopolies to warp the power of any political system around the globe. It will also serve as an introduction to the “nightwatchman” state. That is, the less government, the more “private” power for the property holders. In short can democracy exist side by side with property power?