Democracy’s greatest strength is that it turns what were once contests of arms into contests of ideas. Political contests are often aggressive, confrontational, and generate extreme rhetoric, but they are rarely violent; this is one of humanity’s greatest achievements.
But while politics channels otherwise violent forces, it is important to realize that politics still represents a war of ideas—of conflicting ideologies, and often incompatible worldviews.
We cannot both cut taxes for the ultra-wealthy and provide reasonable standards of social services for the poor and the middle class; we cannot both respect a woman’s control over her own body and the dictates of religious fundamentalists; we cannot both believe in equality and deny gay people the right to marry. Although politics is often the “art of compromise,” public policy often requires choices that need to be made in which one side wins and the other loses.
I feel strongly that the extremist ideology of the far right in America is poisonous and a threat to the long-term viability of America as a great power; further, that it results in extreme suffering for large portions of the population. The far left also espouses some terrible ideas, but it has virtually no power and is relegated to fringe status; the far right, however, is ascendant within one of our two major parties. The Democrats are by and large centrist, while the Republicans have morphed into something radical that pays little if any attention to true conservative principles.
It is my goal to defeat the far right; I don’t want to compromise with them, to lend credibility to their ideas, but to bury their delusional worldview in the dustbin of history. There are times when a political party goes so far off the deep end that it loses its intellectual and moral legitimacy; such is the case today with the Republican Party and its extremist enablers.
The war of ideas that I and others want to engage in seeks to discredit the far right on social policy, on tax policy, on the role of religion in society, and, perhaps most importantly, on the proper role of the government in the regulation of business. We have just witnessed the immense damage that lax regulation has wrought on our society: putting us on the brink of a second Great Depression, dropping us behind in the crucial technologies of the 21st century, and creating the greatest income inequality in America in generations.
As in most wars, battles will be won and lost, and one must take a long-term view. On Tuesday, it is likely that a battle will be lost and some of the most extremist candidates ever to run for national office will be elected. But this should only make those dedicated to reason and rational public policy more determined than ever not to give up. The ultimate goal is to make sure that 10, 20, 30 years from now there will be no more talk about how tax cuts for the rich pay for themselves, why gays should not have the same rights as everyone else, and why healthcare is best left to the whims of the free market.
We will ultimately win this struggle, but victory will come sooner if we realize that it is a war of ideas that we are engaged in. It’s a war that requires plenty of fortitude, mental toughness, and the will to win.
P.S. My new book, What Environmentalists Need to Know About Economics, is my contribution to the war of ideas on the environmental front. It is now available from Amazon.
Jason Scorse