Events such as the “Unite the Right” rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, and the storming of the Capitol building in the United States on January 6, 2021, have underscored that the alt-right and related non-liberal ideologies still hold a significant place in American political culture. This phenomenon is referred to as the “rise of illiberalism.” Consequently, the long march of extremism through American political culture is expected to continue into an uncertain and authoritarian future.
In this context, Thomas 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 approaching this concept as a political ideology. Therefore, it is essential to explore the philosophical foundations, intellectual origins, and social aspects of this ideology, as well as the political developments that facilitated its spread. This includes documenting how it has infiltrated mainstream political discourse in the United States and seeking to understand why this political vision has found a substantial audience and exerts ongoing influence, along with ways to curb its development and reinstate the principles of liberal democracy.
What is Illiberalism?
The author attempts to define the concept of illiberalism, explaining that it is a political ideology—essentially a fixed set of ideas about politics. Thus, it can be defined as a political ideology that explicitly rejects liberal democracy or certain central principles of liberal democracy, such as political equality, human rights, electoral democracy, the rule of law, enlightened ethics, and tolerance. Accordingly, non-liberal ideologies include all right-wing extremists, as well as non-liberal leftist movements such as communist and anarchist schools of thought, along with some types of anti-fascist movements.
According to the author, liberal democracy is based on the necessity of a strong, independent government to protect citizens’ rights, deriving its legitimate powers from the “consent of the governed,” which is absent in illiberal principles. It also rejects the possibility of change or revolution, unlike liberal democracy that views this as ensuring freedom of expression and preventing government violations of democratic principles. As for political equality, which is one of the most critical pillars of liberal democracy, it is also absent from illiberal principles as it fundamentally rejects the notion that all people are created equal.
Furthermore, the author critiques the content of the hard-line non-liberal right ideology—one manifestation of the rise of illiberalism—describing it as radical, as it is more extreme than the conservative mainstream that dominated American politics during the 1980s. It represents a blatant and radical departure from liberal democracy, encompassing militant fascism and regressive racist principles that reject equality and rely on anti-Semitism and all democratic principles.
Moreover, the rhetorical style of this ideology is characterized by overt contempt for tolerance, insisting that politics is warfare, embracing the concept of friend vs. enemy, and accusing all political opponents of treachery. Furthermore, it rejects the idea that political discourse should be based on rational argumentation and established facts, seeking common ground, and instead confronts facts with actions and fake news, relying on the dissemination of conspiracy theories.
Manifestations of Illiberalism:
The author presents a range of quantitative and qualitative indicators of the rise of illiberalism and its principles. He conducted a quantitative analysis of non-liberal political opinion outlets online, analyzing approximately 1,952 websites, concluding that there is an increasing size of audiences supporting illiberal outlets as a political ideology. Moreover, audiences of right-wing non-liberal websites are more interactive with their preferred sites, visiting them more often than those of other orientations, facilitating the spread of illiberal ideas and principles within American political culture.
Contrary to some beliefs that the “Unite the Right” rally in August 2017, which included members of the far-right, alt-right, and white nationalists advocating for the unification of whites, contributed to a strong conviction that alternative right movements were in decline, the author points out that alternative and extremist right movements remain significant and that their supporters will grow in the coming decades, negatively affecting the future of American cultural politics, which is likely to lean more toward authoritarianism.
Evidence for this is found in the platform “Breitbart News,” which its former editor Steve Bannon referred to as the “premier alt-right platform,” as it has the largest audience compared to any other political magazine online, with around 51 million visits and an average of 5.5 million visitors monthly.
Thus, the most pressing question from the author’s perspective is why the continued presence of the alternative right should be a cause for concern. The reason is not related to the movement’s support for Donald Trump, protectionism, nationalism, restricting immigration, or any other broadly debateable issues within traditional American politics, but rather to the fundamental elements of the alternative right ideology as an illiberal and anti-democratic movement rooted in racism, white extremism, and America-hating, relying on vitriolic rhetoric and intolerance.
Additionally, the author refers to a series of manifestations following the term of former President Donald Trump. Data and analyses conducted before the 2020 presidential elections created an optimistic atmosphere that Trump would be defeated resoundingly, with Democrats able to form a unified government after taking control of the White House and both congressional chambers. Ultimately, there seemed to be a promising chance for political realignment away from Trump’s non-liberal principles, given that he received over 74 million votes and still holds considerable influence over the Republican Party, being the most popular man in the United States in recent times.
Indeed, Democrats achieved a unified government; however, they failed to undertake a process of political realignment, as illiberalism’s grip on American political culture became, by some standards, stronger than ever. The shocking scenes of angry Trump supporters storming the Capitol building due to fake news alleging election fraud served as notable indicators 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 support for disrupting the electoral vote-counting process at the Capitol. Furthermore, a Reuters poll revealed that 52% of Republicans believed Trump “won legitimately” in the 2020 elections, and 68% expressed concern that the elections were “rigged.” Moreover, it was noted that more Americans are now more skeptical about the American electoral process than they were four years ago, with 28% of voters believing the elections resulted from illegal voting or election fraud, reflecting an increase of 12 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 interests. While identity—referring to the identity of the political system—represents a vital aspect of political life that should be developed in alignment with liberal democracy, right-wing non-liberal ideologies have successfully exploited the theory of racial identity as a forefront in their assault on liberal democracy.
This exploitation has been rooted in what is termed the “replacement thesis,” which posits that outsiders, lower-class individuals, or the “losers” of society receive preferential treatment and attention from mainstream opinion theorists. Consequently, non-liberals have defined themselves—not African Americans or women—as the true outsiders of the liberal democratic society, claiming to be marginalized from American democracy, thus positioning themselves as the only group capable of creating radical change.
On the other hand, ideas—defined as the arguments shaping the trajectory of political discourse—have played a significant role in American political culture. Throughout the period from the 1970s to the early 21st century, the United States managed to create a system for producing and disseminating public ideas that were simple enough for the masses to grasp. However, due to painful political and social developments in the early 21st century, alongside the emergence of digital communication technologies that undermined the functions of preserving public culture as managed by thinkers, this system has collapsed entirely, facilitating the spread of illiberal principles across various aspects of American political life.
Thus, the author argues that thinkers must abandon certain doctrines that weakened their position even before the transformative changes of the 21st century, as the digital revolution is irreversible. Finally, even if the United States succeeded in addressing identity politics and revived its capacity to develop useful public ideas, interests will remain the main driving force behind any political action, which is of utmost concern, as interest groups continue to hold significant presence in the American landscape. This, coupled with the known issues of pluralism, raises serious concerns—particularly with the fragmented U.S. Constitution, which restricts the effectiveness of collective action—elements that illiberal ideologies will seek to exploit.
The public ideas of most experts have been replaced by “digital memes,” a phenomenon the author refers to as the “strategy of derision,” calling for a necessary balancing of the dominating Armed Mockery discourse prevalent on online needs with a genuine dialogue that aids in building social consensus around ideas proposed by experts and analysts based on true knowledge. To achieve this, internet service providers must be pressured to revise the intellectual content on their websites.
In conclusion, the author advocates for the urgent need to re-establish democratic organization in the United States by revitalizing an American identity grounded in the principles of liberal democracy, such as equality and respect for human rights. The author coins this as “positive identity politics,” aimed at creating a widespread common sense of community to affirm the equal importance of all societal sectors and restore public trust in government. It is acknowledged that realizing this objective will present significant challenges in the future. The author also emphasizes the importance of constitutional reform through amendments designed to improve decision-making and policy processes while mitigating division.
Source:
Thomas J. Main, The Rise of Illiberalism, (Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press, January 4, 2022)
