COVID-19 Exposes a Crisis of Representative Government

For a time back in the aughts, our big national debate centered on who should run national-security policy in wartime. The who question is about accountability, without which our constitutional system cannot function. The legitimacy of a democratic republic for a free, self-determining people ultimately depends on a transparent line: decisionmakers who answer to the people whose lives are impacted by those decisions.

The system was fraying then, but it is disintegrating now. That is a crisis. Not merely a COVID-19 crisis, but a crisis of representative government itself.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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For a time back in the aughts, our big national debate centered on who should run national-security policy in wartime. The who question is about accountability, without which our constitutional system cannot function. The legitimacy of a democratic republic for a free, self-determining people ultimately depends on a transparent line: decisionmakers who answer to the people whose lives are impacted by those decisions.

The system was fraying then, but it is disintegrating now. That is a crisis. Not merely a COVID-19 crisis, but a crisis of representative government itself.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.