Reply #97: You are misinterpreting

[idlisambar]

The second highlighted quote in particular is spot on. Not sure why anyone would object to the idea of a government that can harness individual ambition and channel it into public good. Again this is the anti-thesis of the ideology of the modern Republican party in which "the public" is a fiction and individual ambition is an end in itself.

These quotes merely reflect an attitude that was common among most of the founders -- distrust of "the mob" (they were very familiar with the ancient greek experience with popular democracy). It is the reason why we have checks and balances in a our government that buffer against simple popular rule -- an independent judicial branch, a bill of rights, a separate legislative body with a term of 6 years, etc.

Hamilton's quotes have nothing to do with cutting benefits to the elderly and the needy. They don't express contempt for the people, they only express a need to have checks against their passions and fads when it comes to governing.

I don't think Obama has contempt for the people either. That doesn't strike me as the problem. I think he has good intentions but he is a creature of the current zeitgest -- neoliberalism -- a view of the world that is very much framed by the elites for the interest of the elites. He has not shown the strength or independence of intellect capable of breaking out of that mold.