A constitutional republic such as ours cannot survive without a strong middle class. The Greek philosopher Aristotle analyzed the benefits and drawbacks of various forms of government. Those constitutions which consider only the personal interest of the rulers are all wrong constitutions, or perversions of the right forms.
Men have a right to expect impartiality when they sue for justice.
The sovereignty of the law must supersede the sovereignty of the ruler. The law is a higher authority than the ruler because it proceeds from a higher authority. Democracies inevitably decline when they cease to respect this higher authority and place the interests of any one group above the common good. In so doing, they ultimately destroy their middle classes. Clashes between the envious and the contemptuous will soon level such a state.