It took centuries of intellectual, philosophical development to achieve
political freedom. It was a long struggle, stretching from Aristotle to John
Locke to the Founding Fathers. The system they established was not based on
unlimited majority rule, but on its opposite: on individual rights, which were
not to be alienated by majority vote or minority plotting. The individual was
not left at the mercy of his neighbors or his leaders: the Constitutional
system of checks and balances was scientifically devised to protect him from
both. This was the great American achievement—and if concern for the actual
welfare of other nations were our present leaders’ motive, this is what we
should have been teaching the world.