The events surrounding the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, and the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, have underscored that the alternative right, along with related illiberal ideologies, continues to hold a significant presence in American political culture—what is termed “the rise of illiberalism.” Consequently, the long march of extremism through American political culture will persist into a hazy and authoritarian future.
In this context, Thomas J. Main, a professor of public and international affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York, emphasizes in his book “The Rise of Illiberalism” the necessity of looking at this concept as a political ideology. Thus, it is crucial to explore the philosophical foundations, intellectual origins, and social aspects of this ideology, the political developments that facilitated its spread, as well as documenting how it has permeated mainstream political discourse in the United States. Finally, there is a need to understand why this political vision has found a large audience, continually exerts influence, and how it can be curbed, working to reinstate liberal democratic principles.
What is Illiberalism?
The author attempts to define the concept of illiberalism as a political ideology— a set of relatively fixed and coherent ideas about politics. It can be defined as a political ideology that explicitly rejects liberal democracy or some of its core principles, such as political equality, human rights, electoral democracy, the rule of law, enlightened moralities, and tolerance. Consequently, illiberal ideologies encompass all right-wing extremists, as well as certain non-liberal leftist movements, such as communist and anarchist schools, and some types of anti-fascist movements.
According to the author, liberal democracy is based on the importance of a strong, independent government to protect citizens’ rights, deriving its legitimate powers from “the consent of the governed,” which is not a tenet of illiberalism. Illiberalism also rejects the possibility of change or revolution, unlike liberal democracy which sees these as essential for ensuring free expression and safeguarding against government violations of democratic principles. As for political equality—one of the most vital pillars of liberal democracy—this notion is also absent in illiberal principles as it fundamentally denies the idea that all people are created equal.
Furthermore, the author critiques the content of hardline non-liberal rightist ideology—as a manifestation of the rise of illiberalism—describing it as radical because it is far more extreme than the conservative strand that dominated American politics in the 1980s. It is a blatant and radical departure from liberal democracy, incorporating hardline fascism and regressive racist principles that reject equality and embrace anti-Semitism, as well as all democratic principles.
In addition to the above, the rhetorical style of this ideology is characterized by outright disdain for tolerance, an insistence that politics is war, an embrace of the friend vs. enemy concept, and accusations of treason against all political opponents, alongside harsh criticism. Moreover, the illiberal right rejects the idea that political discourse should be based on rational argumentation and established facts, seeking common ground. Instead, it confronts facts with actions, incidents, and fake news, relying heavily on conspiracy theories.
Manifestations of Illiberalism
The author presents a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators reflecting the rise of illiberalism and the spread of its principles. He conducted a quantitative analysis of non-liberal online political outlets, analyzing around 1,952 websites, concluding that there has been an increase in the size of the audience supporting illiberal outlets as a political ideology. Not only that, but the audience of right-wing illiberal websites is also more engaged with their preferred sites, visiting them far more frequently than those aligned with other orientations, which facilitates the dissemination of illiberal ideas and principles within American political culture.
Contrary to the belief of some that the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017—a gathering of far-right and alt-right members, white nationalists advocating for white unity—has contributed to a strong belief that alternative right movements are in retreat, the author points out that these movements remain significant and their support base is expected to grow in the coming decades. This trend is likely to negatively impact the future of American cultural politics, pushing it more toward authoritarianism.
An indication of this is the platform “Breitbart News,” described by its former editor Steve Bannon as “the leading alt-right platform,” which boasts the largest audience compared to any other political magazine online, averaging about 51 million visits and 5.5 million monthly unique visitors.
Thus, the most pressing question from the author’s perspective is: why should the continued presence of the alternative right be a cause for concern? The answer here has little to do with the movement’s support for Donald Trump, protectionism, nationalism, restrictions on immigration, or any other widely debatable issue within the spectrum of traditional American politics. Rather, it concerns the fundamental elements of the alternative right’s ideology as an illiberal, anti-democratic movement rooted in racism, white extremism, anti-American sentiment, and a reliance on harsh rhetoric and intolerance.
Moreover, the author highlights a number of phenomena following the term of former President Donald Trump. Data and analyses conducted before the 2020 presidential election contributed to an optimistic belief that Trump would face a crushing defeat and that Democrats would manage to form a unified government after gaining control of the White House and both houses of Congress. Eventually, political realignment away from Trump’s illiberal principles was anticipated. However, Trump secured over 74 million votes and continues to hold significant influence over the Republican Party, making him one of the most popular figures in the U.S. recently.
Indeed, Democrats achieved a unified government, but they failed to carry out political realignment, as the grip of illiberalism on American political culture has become, by some standards, stronger than ever. The stunning scene of angry Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol due to fake news alleging election fraud is one of the most significant manifestations of the spread of illiberal sentiments in recent American history.
In this context, a PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted on January 6, 2021, indicated that 8% of adults and 18% of Republicans expressed their support for disrupting the electoral vote process at the Capitol. Additionally, a Reuters poll revealed that 52% of Republicans believed Trump “won legitimately” in the 2020 election, and 68% were concerned that the election was “rigged.” Furthermore, more Americans were skeptical about the American electoral process compared to four years earlier, with 28% of voters believing the elections resulted from illegal voting or electoral fraud—a rise of 12 percentage points from four years prior.
Pillars of American Culture
According to the author, there are three main pillars of American political culture: identity, ideas, and, finally, interests. Although identity—which refers to the political system’s identity—is a necessary aspect of political life that should evolve in alignment with liberal democracy, non-liberal right-wing ideologies have successfully exploited racial identity theories as the core of their attack on liberal democracy.
This has been achieved through reliance on what is called the “replacement thesis,” which posits that outsiders, lower classes, or the disenfranchised are given preference and attention by mainstream opinion theorists. Non-liberals have managed to define themselves—not African Americans or women—as the true outsiders in the liberal democratic society, feeling alienated from American democracy and asserting that they are the only group capable of critically assessing society and effecting radical change.
On the other hand, ideas—arguments that shape the trajectory of political discourse—have played a significant role in American political culture. From the 1970s until the early 2000s, the United States managed to create a system for producing and disseminating public ideas that were simple enough for the masses to comprehend. However, due to painful political and social developments in the early 21st century, alongside the rise of digital communication technologies that undermined the role of intellectuals in maintaining public culture, this system collapsed entirely, contributing to the spread of illiberal principles across all facets of American political life.
Therefore, the author believes that intellectuals must abandon certain doctrines that weakened their position even before the transformative changes of the 21st century because the digital revolution is irreversible. Ultimately, even if the United States succeeds on identity politics matters and revives its ability to develop useful public ideas, interests will remain the principal motivator behind any political action, which is increasingly perilous. Interest groups are still prominently present in the American landscape, not to mention the well-known issues of pluralism, which could create numerous problems, particularly with the deeply fragmented U.S. Constitution, as it restricts the effectiveness of collective action—all issues that illiberal ideologies will seek to exploit.
Indeed, the public ideas of most experts have been replaced by “digital memes,” which the author refers to as a “strategy of mockery.” He advocates for balancing the dominant armed mockery discourse that addresses online needs with genuine discourse that assists in building social consensus around the ideas of experts and analysts reliant on real knowledge. To achieve this, internet service providers must be pressured to modify the intellectual content of their websites.
In conclusion, the author calls for a renewed democratic reorganization in the United States by revitalizing an American identity based on the principles of liberal democracy, such as equality, respect for human rights, and so forth. He labels this “positive identity politics,” aimed at creating a widely shared sense of community to re-emphasize the equal importance of all sectors within society and restore public trust in government, acknowledging that achieving this goal will pose a tremendous challenge in the future. The author also stresses the importance of constitutional reform through amendments to improve decision-making processes and policies and to mitigate division.
Source:
Thomas J. Main, The Rise of Illiberalism (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, January 4, 2022).
