Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The urgency to defeat authoritarianism to save freedom and justice

The urgency to defeat authoritarianism to save freedom and justice

rarrarorro/Getty Images

Stein is an organizational and political strategist who has worked with dozens of for-profit, not-for-profit and political and public sector organizations over the past 50 years. He currently serves as a researcher/writer, consultant and champion of the work of cross-partisan cultural and political organizations and initiatives.

The accelerating and dangerous rise of authoritarianism throughout the world is threatening the blessings of freedom, the human dignity of justice relentlessly pursued, and the governability of democracies, including our own. Current political, economic, social and cultural stresses and tensions throughout the world can no longer simply be explained by the obvious limitations of 20th-century-conceived ideologies, political parties, economic systems and cultural norms.

Rather, the great challenges of our time are between forces advancing freedom and justice versus those promoting division and exclusion — between political open-mindedness and those who promote narrowly conceived, rigid beliefs and certainties.


The central cultural and political struggles of this century are now between those who promote dialogue, deliberation and rational problem-solving to resolve our differences and those who demand allegiance to exclusive certainties fueled by nihilism, racism, nationalism, hatred of adversaries, violence, wokeness and cancel culture. The latter group ridicules and denigrates the unifying skills of collaboration, consensus and compromise with political adversaries.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The causes of these growing schisms across the globe include profound divisions among peoples, racial reckonings, economic inequalities, the disruptive human and environmental ravages of climate change, the destabilizing effects of mis- and disinformation spread by new technologies and social media, and fear of loss of status, change and displacement for many who have perceived themselves to be in the majority.

America’s constitutional republic form of government is being dangerously threatened by our unique version of these forces. As our country has become more diverse, our economic system less equitable, our political arena more tribal and coarsened, and our prevailing political, economic and cultural power structures more sharply challenged and directly confronted by forces across the political spectrum, the governing ideals, institutions and norms we developed in the last century are under growing assault.

Consequently, deep fissures have surfaced within both of our political parties, their abilities to deliberate and compromise with one another have seriously eroded, and visceral hatred for their adversaries is increasingly poisoning our politics. The fracturing Republican Party is practicing an increasingly scorched earth policy that is threatening the health and well-being of our constitutional republic. And Democrats are experiencing their own schisms that are challenging their ideological and political cohesion.

While Republicanism has been captured by radical authoritarian, nihilist and populist forces, Democrats also are threatening their continuing political capacity to agree on common causes or to address Americas’ shared desntinies.

The dangers to our republic are palpable. The decline of consensus, compromise and pursuit of common purpose, both within and between our two major political camps, poses grave dangers to healthy governance and the ability of America to thrive in the years and decades to come.

The urgency of now

The history of the world is a testament to the corrosive consequences of authoritarian populism, which, in all of its dysfunctional forms, denies freedoms, quashes justice, destroys human dignity and destabilizes democracies.

In America, the course is now clear. We must immediately and decisively confront and effectively compete with the forces and voices of authoritarianism by crafting a new, inclusive cultural, political and economic narrative — a 21st century vision of our country that respects our diversity of thought and opinion; acknowledges and honors our ideological differences; embraces love, not hatred; promotes unity, not division; and advances the practices of dialogue, deliberation and problem-solving across our many religious, racial, gender, ideological and regional divides.

“Unity” does not require “conformity.” Our differences and diversity are strengths, not weaknesses. The tenets of freedom, justice and opportunity for all animated the founding of our nation, are enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, and can inspire a healthier, more secure and prosperous America in the years and decades to come.

That we are still struggling after nearly 250 years to realize these ideals is cause for hope and commitment, not distrust and despair. Our commitment to one another, to our prosperity and to a continuously evolving national purpose must never be reduced to the sum of our differences, nor abandoned in hopeless despair that a “more perfect” union can never be realized.

The foundation of a new, pro-democracy American vision, mission and strategy already is evolving:

A new pro-democracy vision. Anti-democratic, authoritarian populism must be confronted effectively in the months and years ahead by a new pro-democracy cultural and political alliance committed to America’s constitutional republic form of governance and devoted to a secure, collaborative and prosperous future that offers the fruits of freedom, justice, human dignity and opportunity for all.

Relentless pursuit of a pro-democracy mission. Our new American vision must animate a pro-democracy mission to create a healthy constitutional republic governed by an inclusive generation of duly elected representatives. Such representatives will commit themselves to the establishment of capacities, collaborations and cooperative ventures that identify, celebrate and elevate those in America who are advancing truth, trust, reason and civility and are building bridges among pro-democracy Republicans, Democrats and independents for constructive dialogue, deliberation and problem-solving in communities and nationally.

Mobilizing and implementing a pro-democracy strategy. This new pro-democracy force and voice is ready to be built in America. Its roots are taking hold in a range of existing, highly respected center-left, center-right, moderate and independent organizations with enlightened leadership ready for the challenges confronting our planet, country and communities.

This potentially powerful coalition of interests must begin mobilizing in 2022, strengthening and coalescing by 2024, and growing for decades to come to promote an enlightened 21st century pro-democracy agenda to confront authoritarian populism fueled by extremist forces across the political spectrum.

A more comprehensive strategy about how this inclusive, vibrant and effective “pro-democracy” force can be built in America will be published in early 2022.

Read More

Religious elites

An open book at a community gathering.

Canva

Religious elites

In some societies, there is no distinction between religious elites and political elites. In others, there is a strong wall between them. Either way, they tend to have direct access to huge swaths of the populace and influence with them. This is an irresistible target for the proto-tyrant to court or nullify.

In many cases, the shrewd proto-tyrant will pose as befriending the major religious sect or, at least, dissemble that they mean it no harm. It is extremely enticing for the leaders of these sects to give the proto-tyrant public support or, at least, studiously refrain from criticizing their regime. There is apparently much to be gained or, at least, much less to lose in terms of their temporal power and ability to continue serving their faithful.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bullies and the World Order

March 30, 2014: A sign made up of a photo composite of Vladimir Putin and Hitler looms over protesters who have gathered in the main square in Vienna to protest Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Getty Images, Benstevens

Bullies and the World Order

We’ve all heard the saying: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” We know the truth of this: we have lived it, and watch in horror as it plays out now, as it has throughout history.

February is a banner month for Vladimir Putin and his regime, marking the anniversaries of three grim and illegal maneuvers led by the Russian President.

Keep ReadingShow less
Loyalty, Democracy, and the Future of American Politics

Vice President-elect JD Vance and President-elect Donald Trump arrive at the 60th inaugural ceremony where Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president on January 20, 2025, in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Loyalty, Democracy, and the Future of American Politics

The place of loyalty in this country’s political system has been at the forefront of political conversations since the November election returned Donald Trump to the Oval Office. Loyalty has long been seen as what the president values most in his relationship with others.

In his 2024 presidential campaign Trump did not try to hide any of that. “We love loyalty in life,” he said. “Don’t you think? Loyalty?”

Keep ReadingShow less
Two Minutes . . .

For This and Future Generations

Sunset over cracked soil in the desert. Global warming concept

Getty Images//Anton Petrus

Two Minutes . . . For This and Future Generations

I want to offer you a different lens through which to better understand the climatological and environmental crises that we—indeed all of humanity—are facing. I would like you to view these crises through the long lens of our planet’s geologic and evolutionary history.

From the beginning of our planet’s formation, some 4.6 billion years ago, to the present there have been five major extinction events which destroyed anywhere from70% (during the Devonian Period) to 95% (at the end of the Permian Period) of all living things on earth. These extinctions were natural events: caused by some combination of rapid and dramatic changes in climate, combined with significant changes in the composition of environments on land or in the ocean brought on by plate tectonics, volcanic activity, climate change (including the super cooling or super heating of earth), decreases in oxygen levels in the deep ocean, changes in atmospheric chemistry (acid rain), changes in oceanic chemistry and circulation, and in at least one instance, a cosmological event—the massive asteroid strike inChicxulub, near what is now the Yucatan peninsula.

Keep ReadingShow less