It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government,... — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. That's set out in the Constitution.

Author: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Insight: We live in a time when it's tempting to see government as a single entity—either "good" or "broken" depending on who's in charge. But Ginsburg's point cuts deeper. The genius of the system isn't that it makes government efficient. It's that it makes power messy. When Congress wants something, the President can veto it. When the President acts, courts can strike it down. When courts decide, Congress can amend the Constitution. It's friction built into the foundation, and that friction is actually the point. This matters in moments when one branch seems clearly right and another clearly wrong. We tend to want the "right" one to just win already. But accepting the slowness, the compromise, the endless negotiation between branches is what keeps any single faction from consolidating power completely. It's unglamorous and frustrating. It's also why democracies that let one branch swallow the others—whether it's a strongman president or an unchecked parliament—tend to stay that way. The Constitution's design doesn't promise good outcomes. It promises that no single group gets to decide what "good" means forever.

Source: Interview with Jeffrey Rosen, National Constitution Center (July 1, 2019)