How Democracy Became the Enemy - Thoughts

We have spent the last three years trying to understand the Trump movement - its adherents, its ideology, and how America - the beacon of liberal democracy - could have spawned such a movement in the first place. Is Trumpism a distinct political philosophy, a psychological reaction to the dislocations and societal changes brought on by rapid technological advancement and globalization - or is it yet another in the long line of historical power grabs launched by rapacious opportunists like Donald Trump. And the fundamental question concerning the Trumpian trend toward authoritarianism remains: how concerned should we be?

Here’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times written by Roger Cohen that seeks to contextualize our American Trump phenomenon within the trending politics of the European Union of today. It’s a 30,000 ft. look at how the politics of Trumpism are reflected in many of the struggling democracies that emerged after the fall of the USSR. I think it’s also a cautionary tale of how the far-left of the Democratic Party should interpret Trump’s systematic dismantling of our liberal democracy so that, instead of spawning an ideological backlash, it crafts solutions that meet the Left’s core objectives while presenting policies that are achievable.