The Heart of the Body Politic

From The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

The life-principle of the body politic lies in the sovereign authority. The legislative power is the heart of the State; the executive power is its brain, which causes the movement of all the parts. The brain may become paralysed and the individual still live. A man may remain an imbecile and live; but as soon as the heart ceases to perform its functions, the animal is dead.

Since the 2010 midterm election, the legislative branch of the American government has been paralyzed by the GOP/Tea Party majority who have been blocking all legislation that the brain proposes. But there is a obvious reason for their recalcitrance. Doing nothing benefits them. A down economy can bring bring down a President and we may well end up with an imbecile for an executive. The stalled heart of the GOP-controlled legislature may start to function again but its beat will be arrhythmic and painful for most parts of the body politic.

Either way, our republic may soon be clutching its chest.

Another grim thought from the essayist:

The body politic, like the human body, begins to die as soon as it is born, and carries in itself the causes of its destruction. But both may have a constitution that is more or less robust and suited to preserve them a longer or a shorter time. The best constituted State will have an end; but it will end later than any other, unless some unforeseen accident brings about its untimely destruction.

I don't think this is the end but our body politic needs to get in shape, clear its arteries of corporate money, and improve the circulation of its benefits to all of its members.