The new normal outside of established, rich democracies is counterfeit democracy—authoritarian rule that pretends to be democratic. And the playbook is being co-opted by wannabe despots everywhere.
"World War II settled the democracy vs. fascism debate, for a time."
⬆️ One of the most devastating sentences I've read in a while.
Thought-provoking and heart-rate raising material. Thank you for sharing and researching and giving us clear information to chew on, fret over, and share (you know, to mitigate some of the fretting...).
I enjoy your work. I like that you give context, historical and current, and I will share this because I think there are a number of people (in the US at least) who really don't understand or see the backslide we're experiencing for what it is and what it means.
I was so impressed to see you on Big Think, Brian, one of my favorite pubs, kudos!
This disturbing trend of autocracies in democratic clothing appears to be part of a pattern that repeats throughout history. Immoral goons seem to consistently hijack the infrastructure, institutions (and/or their appearances) originally intended for societal greater good. They instead advance rather nefarious, self-interested purposes often with horrific consequences. I wrote a little about this dynamic in a previous era, the medieval Catholic church, American identity and morality:
Hello! I am reading your book (corruptible...). Raucci story, narcissistic liar, dark triad etc reminded me of alt right crooked and loser Trump, of course. Quite enlightning indeed. I would maybe suggest one “complementary” book similar in vein and written by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini to the present. Thank you.
Thanks for clarifying the nature and form of governance around the world. But I wonder…as climate change is getting more realistic to many, countries will have to come together to take on the problem, but more give up the individual quest for supremacy and work towards survival mode. Or something close to that?
That's a good question, Bonnie! It's a particularly tricky issue because so many problems, including climate change, require cooperation between democracies and authoritarian regimes, so it's not really possible to just shun autocrats the way that might have been possible in the past. It's probably the biggest dilemma facing Washington, as there is a great power struggle between the US and China that will define much of this century, but something like 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just the US + China, so it's essential that both countries work together to solve global challenges. And yet...China uses this leverage it has to try to reduce pressure on its serious human rights abuses.
I see a hopeful note in the adoption of ranked choice voting in open primaries and elections. It seemed clearly to moderate a loyalist lean in Alaska last year and I’d like to see it quickly adopted in all local, state, and ultimately federal elections.
I don’t think Austria can be put at the top of the democratic list with 100% as Freedom House does. Austria‘s “Freedom Party” is gaining seats in parliament faster than any other party. They are the remnants of the Nazi Party. They’re xenophobic climate change and vaccine deniers. They’re dangerous. Newspapers are not being stifled yet and the justice system is still intact. So there’s that. But Austria does not deserve the top spot in the list. I think maybe Norway does?
Do you think a parliamentary system works better than ours? Some “sturdier democracies” have multiple parties and assemble coalitions to form a government.
And what about Israel? They seem to be backsliding as well...
I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule between presidential and parliamentary systems. Sometimes each can work well, and local context and history matter a lot, as do the peculiarities of the country and its institutions. But I do think the US system needs substantial reforms.
Brian, to say the US system needs substantial reforms is an understatement. The Constitution is a great document for its time and ability to change. Yet, when was the last time we had an amendment? The senate is a great example of the sclerosis of the US system: 70% of the senate reps 30% of the population...a 30% that is poorer, less educated on average, and more apt to propaganda and brainwashing. Gerrymandering is rife and allows state legislatures to be controlled by a minority of the population, as well as the US House. Voter suppression while always with us, has become even more prevalent. The SCOTUS is patently corrupt with pay to play and conflicts of interest, while lower courts have strict codes of conduct. Hell, I would have been fired from previous jobs if I had done those things Alito, Scalia, and Thomas have done.
Unlike the rest of the world that holds elections on Sundays so this does not conflict with work, the US uses Tuesday’s and does not give people the day off. For too many the choice is to work and keep a shit job to make it past the next paycheck, or lose that job to vote. It is a sick and twisted system.
Money is the root of political evil now. Citizens United has gutted speech and politics by turning the political market into an oligarchy that matches the economy these days. Poor public education makes people dumber and less involved and informed.
We are becoming an Idiocracy at an accelerating rate. I wish I had more hope, but I do not.
I’m optimistic over the medium to long term, but pessimistic over the short-term. The biggest drivers of this in the short term will be the US election in 2024. I would be substantially more pessimistic both about the fate of American democracy and about the fate of global democracy if Trump won in 2024. (I know you’ve asked about how anti-Trump Republicans can rebuild the party and create a viable center right / conservative party and I wish I had a better answer, but my honest answer is to do whatever you can to ensure Trump loses. In the short term, that’s by far the most important thing).
Thank you for the advice. I hope we can have more than two parties- the iterations of the current parties are not good enough for me and a good number of people.
I hear you. Though, if that's going to happen long-term, the US probably needs to change its electoral system. One of the main correlations that political science has identified is that "first past the post" systems (systems in which the party with the most votes wins a seat and everyone else gets nothing - also known as a winner-take-all system) tend to converge toward two-party systems, while electoral systems that have proportional representation, for example, have large numbers of political parties. In the current system, more than two parties can happen, particularly if one party dies and is in the process of being replaced, but it tends to be transient and, usually, eventually snaps back to two.
"World War II settled the democracy vs. fascism debate, for a time."
⬆️ One of the most devastating sentences I've read in a while.
Thought-provoking and heart-rate raising material. Thank you for sharing and researching and giving us clear information to chew on, fret over, and share (you know, to mitigate some of the fretting...).
I enjoy your work. I like that you give context, historical and current, and I will share this because I think there are a number of people (in the US at least) who really don't understand or see the backslide we're experiencing for what it is and what it means.
Evocative perspective as usual, thank you!
I was so impressed to see you on Big Think, Brian, one of my favorite pubs, kudos!
This disturbing trend of autocracies in democratic clothing appears to be part of a pattern that repeats throughout history. Immoral goons seem to consistently hijack the infrastructure, institutions (and/or their appearances) originally intended for societal greater good. They instead advance rather nefarious, self-interested purposes often with horrific consequences. I wrote a little about this dynamic in a previous era, the medieval Catholic church, American identity and morality:
https://radmod.substack.com/p/christopher-columbus-richard-nixon
Great article, finely tuned with the recent developments in global politics.
Thank you for this. I now see more clearly and won’t turn away.
Hello! I am reading your book (corruptible...). Raucci story, narcissistic liar, dark triad etc reminded me of alt right crooked and loser Trump, of course. Quite enlightning indeed. I would maybe suggest one “complementary” book similar in vein and written by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini to the present. Thank you.
Thanks for clarifying the nature and form of governance around the world. But I wonder…as climate change is getting more realistic to many, countries will have to come together to take on the problem, but more give up the individual quest for supremacy and work towards survival mode. Or something close to that?
That's a good question, Bonnie! It's a particularly tricky issue because so many problems, including climate change, require cooperation between democracies and authoritarian regimes, so it's not really possible to just shun autocrats the way that might have been possible in the past. It's probably the biggest dilemma facing Washington, as there is a great power struggle between the US and China that will define much of this century, but something like 40% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just the US + China, so it's essential that both countries work together to solve global challenges. And yet...China uses this leverage it has to try to reduce pressure on its serious human rights abuses.
I see a hopeful note in the adoption of ranked choice voting in open primaries and elections. It seemed clearly to moderate a loyalist lean in Alaska last year and I’d like to see it quickly adopted in all local, state, and ultimately federal elections.
I don’t think Austria can be put at the top of the democratic list with 100% as Freedom House does. Austria‘s “Freedom Party” is gaining seats in parliament faster than any other party. They are the remnants of the Nazi Party. They’re xenophobic climate change and vaccine deniers. They’re dangerous. Newspapers are not being stifled yet and the justice system is still intact. So there’s that. But Austria does not deserve the top spot in the list. I think maybe Norway does?
Do you think a parliamentary system works better than ours? Some “sturdier democracies” have multiple parties and assemble coalitions to form a government.
And what about Israel? They seem to be backsliding as well...
I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule between presidential and parliamentary systems. Sometimes each can work well, and local context and history matter a lot, as do the peculiarities of the country and its institutions. But I do think the US system needs substantial reforms.
Brian, to say the US system needs substantial reforms is an understatement. The Constitution is a great document for its time and ability to change. Yet, when was the last time we had an amendment? The senate is a great example of the sclerosis of the US system: 70% of the senate reps 30% of the population...a 30% that is poorer, less educated on average, and more apt to propaganda and brainwashing. Gerrymandering is rife and allows state legislatures to be controlled by a minority of the population, as well as the US House. Voter suppression while always with us, has become even more prevalent. The SCOTUS is patently corrupt with pay to play and conflicts of interest, while lower courts have strict codes of conduct. Hell, I would have been fired from previous jobs if I had done those things Alito, Scalia, and Thomas have done.
Unlike the rest of the world that holds elections on Sundays so this does not conflict with work, the US uses Tuesday’s and does not give people the day off. For too many the choice is to work and keep a shit job to make it past the next paycheck, or lose that job to vote. It is a sick and twisted system.
Money is the root of political evil now. Citizens United has gutted speech and politics by turning the political market into an oligarchy that matches the economy these days. Poor public education makes people dumber and less involved and informed.
We are becoming an Idiocracy at an accelerating rate. I wish I had more hope, but I do not.
Do you believe there will be a demcoratic comeback within the next few years?
I’m optimistic over the medium to long term, but pessimistic over the short-term. The biggest drivers of this in the short term will be the US election in 2024. I would be substantially more pessimistic both about the fate of American democracy and about the fate of global democracy if Trump won in 2024. (I know you’ve asked about how anti-Trump Republicans can rebuild the party and create a viable center right / conservative party and I wish I had a better answer, but my honest answer is to do whatever you can to ensure Trump loses. In the short term, that’s by far the most important thing).
Thank you for the advice. I hope we can have more than two parties- the iterations of the current parties are not good enough for me and a good number of people.
I hear you. Though, if that's going to happen long-term, the US probably needs to change its electoral system. One of the main correlations that political science has identified is that "first past the post" systems (systems in which the party with the most votes wins a seat and everyone else gets nothing - also known as a winner-take-all system) tend to converge toward two-party systems, while electoral systems that have proportional representation, for example, have large numbers of political parties. In the current system, more than two parties can happen, particularly if one party dies and is in the process of being replaced, but it tends to be transient and, usually, eventually snaps back to two.
Could the US move to 3 or more parties? How? If not, why? If so, what ensues?