Democracy and wishful thinking

Of course, the US, as the most powerful democracy, does have immense cleavages to overcome with a median of 89 per cent across the other 16 advanced economies in 2021 noting that racial/ethnic discrimination alone was a major challenge for US society with only a median of just 17 per cent considering American democracy to be a good model for other countries to follow.

While growing economic inequality in the US still affects blacks most, the current situation provides an opportunity for political leadership to address dissatisfaction about growing inequality, as the need to maintain a strong middle class is crucial given that a greater income share by the rich and the poor means that “the wealthy can exert disproportionate influence on public policy because economic resources can be translated into political power”.

However, although one view argues that Trump’s tax and economic reforms addressed inequality by improving the situation of low-income black workers most, the rise of Trump did successfully exploit views that Washington policy elites were corrupt, most media sources were fake, greater national protection was needed to address the economy and immigration, and conservative cultural messages on religion, abortion and gay rights needed to be promoted.

Although support for Trump’s divisive approach remains influential within Republic circles, this does not necessarily mean that US liberal democracy will implode.

While the separation of powers in the US political system makes legislation difficult to achieve, certainly much harder than the Australia’s federal political system which has achieved a much fairer economic-social policy mix over many decades, it still provides an important constraint on any populist leader hell-bent on eroding institutions for the sake of power.  

Despite recent fears about a conservative dominated Supreme Court, with three judges appointed by President Trump, it refused Trump’s bid to block the release of White House records concerning the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol and the disruption of the certification of the 2020 electoral count, as any confidentiality of internal White House communications was outweighed by the need for full accountability.  

However, in line with the reality that all people have a right to express and promote their views, reflecting their rights within a legitimate and progressive liberal democracy, the US may change its mind on difficult questions.

While the conservative dominated Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex, it may overturn Roe v. Wade during 2022 to allow states to set their own abortion rules, thus reversing nearly 50 years of legal precedent which gave pregnant women greater liberty to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.  

No one really knows how policy trends in any liberal democracy will play out, as the US experience highlights.  

In agreement with those who warnof another major stock market crash occurring given the current bubble, after years of governments promoting very low interest rates to encourage spending (now with higher inflation), it remains to be seen to what extent domestic attitudes implode in the face of another major economic recession should it occur.

With future economic turmoil, issues relating to freedoms and policy outcomes will affect all societies in some form, including the affluent liberal democracies as their people retain the freedom to support different policy ideas and many may again embrace shared language, customs, and history to again urge change.

That is just how the world is, and any discussion of a supposed decline of advanced liberal democracies should reflect the related policy difficulties that face any nation, never mind the poorer nations with far fewer resources who will always be much more vulnerable to the appeal and dominance of elites and authoritarianism.