When the US Constitution was written, many people − from those who wrote the document to those on the outside who read it − believed that endowing the president with kinglike powers was dangerous.
The assumption underpinning the whole concept was this idea that politics could be “nonpartisan.” Several founders, including Washington, cautioned that the system would fail if political parties emerged, which happened instantly (in fact, you can see the beginnings even within the constitution itself with vulgar compromises like the three-fifths compromise), because as it turns out, politics isn’t just a matter of high-minded ideas but of different classes persuing their conflicting material interests. The reason they couldn’t imagine a political party taking over all three branches at once is because they had no understanding of how politics actually works.
Even then, the way the division of powers shook out was left very ambiguous in the constitution. The concept of judicial review that gives the SCOTUS significant power by allowing it to strike down laws was not spelled out in the constitution but established later in Marbury v Madison. The president’s role was similarly ambiguous, the only reason it really exists is they knew they’d have to put Washington at the helm somewhere for anyone to buy into it and he immediately clashed with Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans who thought his role should be extremely limited.
Maybe they should have foreseen a situation where evil and immoral people were allowed and even encouraged to succeed in any sphere of power, whether politics, religion or business. Its actually society which is sick and not just politics.
The assumption underpinning the whole concept was this idea that politics could be “nonpartisan.” Several founders, including Washington, cautioned that the system would fail if political parties emerged, which happened instantly (in fact, you can see the beginnings even within the constitution itself with vulgar compromises like the three-fifths compromise), because as it turns out, politics isn’t just a matter of high-minded ideas but of different classes persuing their conflicting material interests. The reason they couldn’t imagine a political party taking over all three branches at once is because they had no understanding of how politics actually works.
Even then, the way the division of powers shook out was left very ambiguous in the constitution. The concept of judicial review that gives the SCOTUS significant power by allowing it to strike down laws was not spelled out in the constitution but established later in Marbury v Madison. The president’s role was similarly ambiguous, the only reason it really exists is they knew they’d have to put Washington at the helm somewhere for anyone to buy into it and he immediately clashed with Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans who thought his role should be extremely limited.
Maybe they should have foreseen a situation where evil and immoral people were allowed and even encouraged to succeed in any sphere of power, whether politics, religion or business. Its actually society which is sick and not just politics.