The world has been horrified recently at a U.S. Congress so polarized and paralyzed that it cannot p

The world has been horrified recently at a U.S. Congress so polarized and paralyzed that it cannot pass a budget. This is the greatest democracy, many wondered, that is going to lead the rest of the world? U.S. public contempt of Congress reached record highs. A major financial-rating agency downgraded U.S. government bonds, not for economic reasons but in fear that Congress lacked the political will to take necessary if painful steps. English philosopher John Locke posited the “legislative” as the most important branch of government. The U.S. Congress seemed determined to prove him wrong.