I suspect the notion of duty had by 2018 taken a rear seat,
pushed out by self-centered ambition, in many if not most democracies in the
world. In the ancient world, office-holding by lot stemmed the impact of people
desiring office. Of the latter, the desire for personal gain would, I submit,
be more likely. In contrast, finding oneself holding an office by lot was more
likely to be accompanied by a sense of duty rather than personal ambition. Of
course, ordinary citizens could find themselves voting in councils or
legislatures—but would that necessarily be so bad?
In the American experiment, office-holding was originally
thought of as a civic duty of the wealthy class. Landless citizens were cut off
from even voting. George Washington did his duty as the first U.S. president,
then went home to Virginia; he had done his duty (and then some). Once he
decided not to run again, he did not, while still president, call it quits even
if he was personally done with the office. I submit that that sense of duty had
been lost by the twenty-first century.
The full essay is at "Duty in Public Service."
