"There is no single explanation, and I will not offer either a grand theory or a universal solution. But there is a theme: given the right conditions, any society can turn against democracy. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, all of our societies will."On January 6, 2021, a mob attacked the United States Capitol. Armed with weapons and white supremacist paraphernalia, including the Confederate flag, KKK signs, and Nazi symbols, the rioters interrupted Congress's Electoral College vote certification process to confirm Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. They threatened, stole, hurt, raged, and defiled. Five people were killed. The insurrectionists attacked American democracy in the name of a leader they believed was unfairly stripped of power: Donald Trump.
To illustrate this idea, Applebaum paints vivid portraits of former colleagues who have shamelessly committed this sacrifice. Here, where the author intertwines the political and the personal, her commentary is critical and poignant. At one point, she and these individuals were in agreement about "democracy, about the road to prosperity" and close enough to attend New Year's Eve parties together. Now, Applebaum is no longer with speaking terms with those that promote extremist, racist, and discriminatory propaganda. Jaroslaw Kaczyński represents one such person; the Polish politician spearheaded the development of nationalist state media for the far-right Law and Justice Party. Mária Schmidt, a Hungarian historian who promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about George Soros, which resulted in the closing of a university, represents another. American readers may recognize Applebaum's former friend Laura Ingraham, a lawyer and American television host who today advances xenophobic rhetoric on Fox News. Boris Johnson also stands out as a familiar name. Johnson once served as a liberal mayor of a "multicultural" London and opined to the author that "nobody serious wants to leave the EU," but later used his platform to advance anti-immigrant rhetoric for Brexit. The actions of the author's case studies reflect the appeal of authoritarianism to elites seeking power through loyalty:
"If you believe, as many of my old friends now believe, that Poland will be better off if it is ruled by people who loudly proclaim a certain kind of patriotism...then a one-party state is actually more fair than a competitive democracy. Why should different parties be allowed to compete on an even playing field if only one of them deserves to rule? Why should businesses be allowed to compete in a free market if only some of them are loyal to the party and therefore truly deserving of wealth?"
Social media, in the author's eyes, can worsen matters by providing a platform to pro-authoritarian elites and spreading faulty information fast. In times past, anti-communists feared "The Big Lie", an all-encompassing fantasy that would convince citizens to reject democracy. More dangerously, social media enables "medium-sized lies" to proliferate. Medium-sized lies, unlike The Big Lie, rest on tiny, twisted truths to create alternate realities. One need only listen to interviews of the rioters in the pro-Trump mob to see how pervasive these lies can be. In this interview, for example, an insurrectionist and retired Air Force officer who attributed his understanding of the election to social media expressed that he participated in the mob because "The President asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there." In addition, social media allows budding authoritarian leaders and parties to generate credibility by creating the impression that their base of support is larger than it actually is. The conservative party Vox in Spain utilized this tactic to grow party support after the movement for Catalan independence created confusion and dissent. In other words, equipped with social media, even unpopular leaders can fake it until they make it.
Applebaum deftly weaves why citizenry support authoritarians in spite of lies, oppression, and the death of innocents into explanations about the powerful. An "authoritarian predisposition", or preference for simplicity over complexity, can influence our preferences:
"The jangling, dissonant sound of modern politics; the anger on cable television and the evening news; the fast pace of social media; the headlines that clash with one another when we scroll through them; the dullness, by contrast, of the bureaucracy and the courts; all of this has unnerved that part of the population that prefers unity and homogeneity."

"democracy is never assured" Boy, is that ever true! I never imagined I would see anything like the riot. I'm so glad some of our institutions held the line- I was pleasantly surprised to see the courts in particular, and even some officials of the same party, stand up with integrity or things could have been worse. The cultural nationalism, though, is so concerning and apparently widespread-it's going to be a long struggle, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnyway it's been amazing to me how many intellectuals have championed Trump. And at the same time, I often think- what if he had been more competent? We were lucky, I think, that he couldn't shoot straight, so to speak. I've heard people say the next authoritarian will be more successful, and I hope that's not true (and doesn't happen anytime soon).
Scary but true words, 'democracy is never assured' I'm just so thankful this time it did win out. This book is one I now want to read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard this book before, but it sounds excellent and I love how in depth your review is! Thank you for sharing, I'm adding this to my TBR now.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting topic there
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and a really excellent review of Anne Applebaum's book and I must read it. I too have been stunned by how many intellectuals, people who we think should know better, have championed Trump and what a disappointment the GOP Senate and House have been in not holding him accountable. I am so worried about 2024. But Anne's book sounds like the one I should be reading to make sense of it all.
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