Drain—More Than Fight—Authoritarianism and Censorship

The current approaches to proactively counteracting authoritarianism and censorship fall into two main categories, which we call “fighting” and “Constitution-defending.” While Constitution-defending in particular has some value, this article advocates for a third major method: draining interest in authoritarianism and censorship.

“Draining” refers to sapping interest in these extreme possibilities of authoritarianism and censorship. In practical terms, it comes from reducing an overblown sense of threat of fellow Americans across the political spectrum. When there is less to fear about each other, there is less desire for authoritarianism or censorship.

We call this problem of an overblown sense of threat of each other “ overthreat ” (overblown + threat). Reducing the threat (dethreatening) is a core goal of our organization, More Like US.

By authoritarianism, we generally mean support for enhanced executive power, coupled with increasingly minimal checks and balances. Censorship can come in many flavors but in this article we are usually referring to increased support for limiting speech considered undesirable. Both authoritarianism and censorship are best thought of as continuums rather than binaries; toward their opposite poles are support for Constitutional principles like divided government and support for free expression, respectively.

Before exploring this argument more, it should be clear that this article focuses on strategies to proactively lead to a better future. The article does not take a position on the correct defensive strategies that institutions, such as law firms or higher education institutions, should take in response to requests / threats the Trump administration has made. In these cases, some kind of “fighting” rather than agreement / capitulation may be the best short-term defensive response. Instead, we are focused on longer-term proactive strategies that various non-profits and other entities can take with goals of long-term reductions in authoritarianism and/or censorship.

The first current method against authoritarianism and censorship – fighting – involves aggressive rhetoric that “our” side will not capitulate and/or the other side is doing terrible things. Actions such as protests or acting forcefully at town halls can also count.

Much of the rhetoric about fighting authoritarianism comes from those who oppose President Trump. For instance, in speaking of the pause on all federal grants and loans (later reversed), the Representative and Senators from Vermont, all Democrats or caucusing with Democrats, issued a statement: “It represents a dangerous move toward authoritarianism. No president has the right to choose which laws to follow and which laws to ignore.” Additionally, never-Trump conservative Heath Mayo, Founder of Principles First, struck a defiant tone at the Principles First conference, repeatedly saying, "We will not bend the knee" to the Trump Administration. There are also actions such as the Hands Off! protests.

Meanwhile, those focused on fighting censorship are often conservatives referring to liberals. For example, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Deputy Chair of the House Freedom Caucus, decried “cancel culture” as dangerous to free speech, saying, "Everyone has said things they wish they didn't say…So who's next? Who will the cancel culture attack next?"

We call the other main current approach “Constitution-defending.” Those concerned about authoritarianism focus on aspects of the Constitution, such as the separation of powers between the branches of government. Examples include Professor James Sample, a constitutional law expert at Hofstra University, who expressed his view that recent Trump actions in conflict with the judicial branch have put the U.S. on the precipice of a constitutional crisis, noting, “If the executive gets what it wants without a process, then not only the individuals lose, but all of us lose justice.” Those focused on censorship emphasize freedom of speech in the First Amendment. As the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) notes, the constitutional right to freedom of speech “represents the essence of personal freedom and individual liberty. It remains vitally important, because freedom of speech is inextricably intertwined with freedom of thought.”

As we will explain later, we have a somewhat more positive view of Constitution-defending than fighting, but we think both have a large blind spot: addressing underlying reasons for the potential attractiveness of authoritarianism and censorship.

Research on authoritarianism shows that some people do have genetic predispositions towards it. However, predispositions are usually only activated when there are perceived threats to one’s safety and security, especially from another group seen as threatening.

That research also covers censorship, unwillingness to see opposing viewpoints expressed. The research on censorship (sometimes described with other terms such as illiberalism) is not quite as robust but the researchers generally see it as associated with left-wing authoritarianism. It is also likely activated more when people feel threatened by another group, especially those with more right-wing perspectives.

Americans also overestimate the threat they are under from those of other political parties. Research makes it clear that Americans vastly overestimate the share of those in the other political party who support political violence, the extent to which political opponents are willing to break democratic norms, and the level of cross-partisan dehumanization, compared to actual levels of all these attitudes.

Combining the research above suggests a new approach to addressing authoritarianism and censorship: drain the desire for authoritarianism and censorship in the first place. Start by correcting the faulty, overblown threats people perceive from others across politics. Given that authoritarianism and censorship flourish when people perceive threats from each other, if the threat perceptions can be reduced and right-sized, the activation of authoritarianism and censorship should also decline. That desire for authoritarianism and censorship starts draining away.

Activation of authoritarianism drains away by reducing the threat many on the right perceive from those on the left, reducing the need to turn to authoritarianism for safety and a sense of protection.

Draining activation of censorship is somewhat more complicated but also relies on threat perceptions. A direct route involves those potentially open to censorship realizing that many on the right are less threatening than perceived, draining interest in restricting speech. Additionally, there is a potential for a virtuous cycle in which those on the political right see that those on the left are less hostile, so they reduce the intensity of conservative rhetoric, which in turn drains liberal interest in limiting speech.

It is, of course, an overgeneralization to say that all authoritarianism can be attributed to the right and all censorship can be attributed to the left. People on the left, historically, can be authoritarian (such as the USSR or modern-day Venezuela), and the right is fully capable of censorship (such as current efforts to limit government speech related to DEI). But, in the contemporary United States, the political right (until possibly this administration) has usually been louder in its critique of the censorship of the left with terms like “cancel culture.” Meanwhile, authoritarianism is more commonly a critique from the left of the right, currently focused on rhetoric and actions of President Trump that promote a very strong executive branch in ways that some on the left see as moving toward authoritarianism.

In comparison, the fighting approach if anything increases a sense of threat of each other. Fighting can thus have a counter-productive outcome of actually increasing the attractiveness of authoritarianism providing security from a threat or censorship that can seem to muzzle a threat. This said, these approaches do likely galvanize support – and at least temporarily increase morale – among one’s own followers and they can likely help to garner media attention and possibly more donations, even if they may increase risks to the country.

A Constitution-defending approach, meanwhile, can be useful in some ways by reinforcing norms in America’s system of government that are important, including separation of powers and freedom of speech. The independence of the judiciary should be defended just as speech that does not incite an immediate danger should be protected.

However, there are real limits to a Constitution-defending approach. As seen in Similarity Hub – a joint effort between AllSides and More Like US that aggregates hundreds of survey datapoints overlaps between Democrats and Republicans across >20 hot-button topics – support among the American public for aspects like rule of law and freedom of speech are thankfully already high. More than 90% of Americans think that it is at least somewhat important that the rule of law is applied fairly and equally, while more than 80% agree that free speech is essential to a functioning democracy and generally have a favorable opinion about the First Amendment to the Constitution, according to surveys conducted in the last few years. At these levels, it may be possible to marginally deepen or increase support among a slightly larger share of Americans but there are limits on just how much higher these values can go.

Relying on fighting will likely worsen authoritarianism and censorship, while Constitution-defending approaches run into practical limits on how effective they can be among a public that already largely believes in Constitutional principles. We propose a third way, draining support for authoritarianism and censorship.

Our organization More Like US corrects these overblown misperceptions of threat of each other. More Like US offers resources including a lesson plan / presentation that shows Americans have deeply distorted views of those in the other political party in terms of threat (dehumanization, support for political violence, and breaking democratic norms). Our guidance for those in the Arts shows how to portray people across politics in a more accurate and less threatening light.

By correcting overblown threat perceptions of each other, More Like US – along with many other organizations and fellow Americans – can drain the activation, desire, and need for destructive approaches like authoritarianism and censorship. Fighting and Constitution-defending can then go back to their best uses in society, advocating for public policy changes in constitutional ways, and teaching future generations about constitutional principles. Draining an overblown sense of threat of each other will help America get there.

James Coan is the co-founder and executive director of More Like US. Coan can be contacted at James@morelikeus.org

Sara Weinstein is a current intern at More Like US.