The error of Wilson in Mexico, of Nixon in Vietnam, of our whole quest for “self-determination,” is clear: we have reversed the order of cause and effect. Free elections are created by free men, not vice versa. The machinery of election will not call up, establish, or guarantee political freedom. The belief that it will reveals our trust in “the market,” our belief that competition of itself makes excellence prevail. Our faith in the electoral process is based entirely on myths of the market. We think we can be “open” to all political alternatives (we cannot). We think we welcome all competitors for power (we do not). We think the freedoms we possess were wrought by this process (they were not). We think the process will work automatically for others (it will not). If our freedoms are impaired, we think — as Dr. Wald did — this comes from some failure in the voting process (it does not). And we hope to cure all such discontent by repairing, restoring, or improving the process (we cannot). We think that voting is freedom’s “invisible hand.”
Nixon Agonistes by Gary Wills, 1970