Updike: "To Govern With the Consent of the Governed"

Acclaimed author John Updike, noted for his novels and short stories, a prolific writer of essays, poetry and book reviews, and a keen observer of the American scene, died on Jan. 27 in Massachusetts. He was 76.

In a 2005 essay written and read for National Public Radio, Updike – a winner of Pulitzer Prizes and a National Book Award – spoke about the natural human tendency toward freedom and democratic government. As a tribute to Updike’s legacy, the Institute shares his words on democracy below.

“To govern with the consent of the governed”: this spells the ideal. And though the implementation will inevitably be approximate and debatable, and though totalitarianism or technocratic government can obtain some swift successes, in the end, only a democracy can enlist a people's energies on a sustained and renewable basis. To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures — if not happiness — its hopeful pursuit.