The second election of Donald Trump should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that liberal democracy is now in decline. No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, if you value your personal freedoms and want societies where pluralism is welcome, this should be a wake-up call.
Trump and other authoritarian politicians around the globe are not aberrations. Nor are they in themselves the problems. They are symptoms of economic and cultural precarity. Economic insecurity, created by a globalization that left nations unable to protect their citizens, coupled with unprecedented population migration and culture wars have left masses of people feeling discombobulated and adrift. The result has been an epidemic of nihilism, addiction, and despair. This has created a vacuum where authoritarians can attract a following with simplistic messaging that taps into the anger.
If we're to prevent further decline into world authoritarian governance, we need to be honest with our selves about the role we all have played in producing the problems. Neoconservative economics has been "successful" in producing growth but it's been a growth where most of the people haven't shared the benefits. Excessive "wokeism" has left many feeling they don't matter. There's been a sense that while the entire working class feels like they've been left behind, liberals and progressives are focusing only on particular demographics.
With that background, here are my humble suggestions for defending and advancing the cause of democracy.
- Take a timeout. If you're angry and afraid, it's not a good time to engage. Find a way to be in nature and get some perspective.
- Find support. It's easy to feel helpless if you feel isolated. Develop a network of people who sympathize with your views. Make a pact to stay involved and, above all, VOTE.
- Stop defending the status quo and the politicians who brought us here. The economy might look good according to the GDP growth but if people can't afford their rent or have to work three jobs, it isn't good for them. A social media post complaining about how you think Hillary was treated unfairly might get you lots of likes from your fellow Democrats but it's a pointless feel-good exercise.
- Stop demonizing opposing voters, no matter how angry you may get or how self-defeating they may seem. We need to win them back.
- Develop a positive vision that recognizes the legitimate concerns that people face and plan for how to address them.
- End identity politics. Stop slicing voters up into demographics. Develop policies and messages with broad appeal.
- Focus the attacks on the authoritarians. To confuse and demoralize their opposition, they create a barrage of controversies that either energize or are irrelevant to their supporters. Center on simple issues of broad appeal. Most authoritarians are corrupt and incompetent; and present easy targets.
- Make institutions relevant to voters. This isn't easy but if authoritarians can delegitimize and corrupt institutions, they can get public support to eliminate them. People need to be reminded why the institutions were created in the first place.
Assuming that we're successful, how do we prevent authoritarians from rising again? A few thoughts.
- Get money and corporations out of politics.
- Develop political systems which support a number of voices but not a cacophony. Two parties is too few but twelve is too many.
- Address disinformation and foreign interference. We need to understand that truth is a public good and it has to be defended.
- Enormous wealth and income disparities are politically destabilizing, particularly when economic mobility is limited. Meritocracy is a laudable goal but it can only exist when people have equitable access to education and healthcare.
