JONATHAN HAIDT: moral psychology in a modern world
Lives Well Lived
Crafting a Clockwork Democracy
The founding fathers designed the United States Constitution as a complex, self-sustaining system akin to a finely tuned clock, recognizing the importance of mechanical precision through gears, counterweights, and regulators. They understood the psychological tendencies of people, particularly their susceptibility to passions and demagoguery, which necessitated a separation of decision-makers from emotional influences. By analyzing past democratic failures, they believed that the geographical expanse of the nation could mitigate rapid emotional upheaval, providing a delay for rational discourse and a cooling-off period during crises.
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