This dude was a bigot and a snob, but indisputably a great read. He wrote one HILARIOUS piece in particular about rednecks, 20's KKK members, and proto- fundies that absolutely killed me... I'll put down a no comment on contemporary references or interpretations of the quote...

And given some of the jackals we jackasses have elected lately, he's got a point.

Government is about people, no matter the type of system one envisions. Within any subset of a given population, there is bound to be charlatans and self-promoters willing and ready to take power. What has always unwound democracies throughout history is a tendency to descend into mob rule--witness the Jacobin revolution of France in 1792. Our system has only lasted this long because power isn't concentrated in one person's hand; thus reducing the cult of personality that arises around some leaders. In essence, government is supposed to act as a check and balance against the jackals and the passions engendered by the jackasses.