It was 2000, and America was riding high. The Cold War was over, and the US had prevailed (or, at least, the Soviet Union had imploded). American economic and military might was unmatched in the world. In the opinion of some, we had reached the end of history, and liberal democracy had won.
Today’s world is, of course, very different. What happened?
Here is the list:
- The GOP stopped being a reasonable, decent, center-right party and became a threat to liberal democracy. The causes of this have been laid out in numerous previous blog posts, but include the end of the Fairness Doctrine, the advent of social media and Fox News, the election of a black president, and demographic and ideological changes which persuaded white Christians that they were a threatened, victimized minority who were entitled, if necessary, to destroy liberal democracy in order to maintain control of the country. Today, the GOP is a mouthpiece for reactionary cultural ideas and the dollar store economy.
- Due partly to failed GOP trickle-down economic policies, partly to rising Chinese economic power, partly to technological change, and partly to the unrestrained short term interests of American business, the middle class was hollowed out, which led to higher inequality and both political and economic instability.
- The Iraq War proved at great cost that while America was capable of defeating Communism, it was far less adept at imposing liberal democratic values on the rest of the world.
- China provided a compelling alternative model to liberal democracy.
So, what now? Can Biden save the country from the Orban Option, either by uniting us against the twin threats of climate change and Chinese dominance, or by reshaping our economy to bring back middle class prosperity? We’ll see.