Winston Churchill once famously observed that “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” His observation came to mind this week after China’s state-run Global Times wrote an article in the wake of the U.S. midterms that celebrated the imminent death of democracy, noting that “the ‘myth’ of Western-style democracy is losing its appeal, even in the West.” It appears that Americans are ready to embrace the simplicity and tranquility of Mao-like single-party rule. After all, Hasan Piker already has the Mao jacket to go with the rise in support for socialism and the nationalization of industries.
The Global Times took particular comfort in the growing dissatisfaction of Western citizens with their systems:
A poll released by the Pew Research Center this year shows that public satisfaction with how democracy works in their own countries is declining dramatically. Dissatisfaction rate stands at 69 percent in France, 68 percent in Spain, 62 percent in Italy, 47 percent in Poland and 69 percent in the US. In fact, sustained tracking by several other prominent Western polling organizations, including Ipsos and Gallup, points to the same trend: Dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Western countries is evolving from isolated discontent into a widespread public sentiment.
The Chinese communists heralded such polling, showing a “dissatisfaction with democracy” due to “the failure of existing democratic institutions to respond effectively to public demands and meet societal needs.” This includes the alleged realization that “institutional corruption has increasingly permeated political processes, further exposing the inherent flaws of Western democratic systems.”
The editorial is obviously meant to show Chinese citizens that they are much better off under authoritarian rule and to deflect recent corruption scandals in China resulting in high-profile arrests and terminations. Instead, it seeks to focus its citizens on “what has gone wrong with democracy.”
The communists are heartened by a rising level of support for socialism and communism in the West. A new poll by The Economist/YouGov is consistent with other polls showing rising support among Democrats for socialism. More Democrats (38%) prefer socialism to capitalism (25%). Other polls show 60% have a favorable view of socialism, while only 32% have a favorable view of capitalism.
However, most Americans, outside of the Democratic Party, do not support socialism. Yet, the Democratic Socialist Party has found that, while it never resonated with voters directly, it has been able to exercise oversized influence within the Democratic Party.
Moreover, a recent survey found roughly six in 10 (59%) Democrats polled said they would feel “very positive” or “somewhat positive” if the US military removed Trump and seized control of the American government.
The survey also found the same overwhelming support for socialism in the new Democratic Party. What is surprising is the support for public ownership of industries. That includes almost half (46%) supporting public ownership and operation of grocery stores. Almost 40 percent support public ownership and operation of restaurants. (39%).
As I wrote in Rage and the Republic, this Republic’s success was a mix of Enlightenment and free-market principles. It was the combination of economic and political liberty that produced the most successful republic in history. This is the 250th anniversary not just of our Revolution but of the release of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations.
The founders knew that true individual liberty could not be achieved without economic freedom. Smith’s idea of the “invisible hand” offered a model of individual economic freedom where the individual tastes and choices of citizens drove whole economies. I believe the key to our surviving and thriving in the 21st Century will be preserving what I call a “liberty-enhancing economy.”
The rise of the Democratic Socialist Party has fueled the trend away from capitalism with calls “to dismantle the capitalist state.” Many of the rising candidates have spent years working the anti-capitalist movement. For example, Senate Democrat nominee James Talarico appeared intent on bringing a touch of Trotsky to Texas. In a video from a climate forum, Talarico is shown declaring capitalism an “oppressive system” linked with white supremacy and that it must be “dismantled” to achieve a better world. It is reminiscent of Leon Trotsky, who denounced the “fundamental evil of the capitalist system” and called on citizens to free themselves from its oppression.
As a state representative, Talarico addressed the 2020 climate conference with an attack on capitalism:
“I’m so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and White supremacy and capitalism in our country … And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we gonna be able to begin the process of dismantling them.”
Talarico’s views closely parallel socialist and communist talking points online. Democratic Socialists of America has challenged people to “Imagine the end of capitalism.” Those words in the Democratic Socialists of America manifesto offer Americans a world without landlords, debt, mandatory work hours, and “food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation… are common goods and utilities.”
The DSA is premised on the same stated objective as Talarico, declaring that there has to be “a revolutionary transformation to replace the capitalist social order based on exploitation and oppression.”
Other candidates have sought to pander to this radical mob. Recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom thrilled the mob by declaring that “nostalgia is not working,” adding that “capitalism as we know it doesn’t work either.” He also recently said that the DSA is the future of the Democratic Party. He ominously added later that the DSA was the future of the party and that “incremental” changes to our system would no longer be tolerated.
The praise from these quarters reaffirms the view of Leninists that American liberals were their “useful idiots.”
The fact is that most Americans do not embrace socialism or communism. This result parallels midterm losses experienced by Reagan, Obama, Clinton, and other presidents. It is not the Marxist mandate that the DSA or these countries had hoped for. The fact that this was another massive shift in American politics is a testament to democracy, not a sign of its death. Americans exercised their franchise as voters and their voices were heard and will be heeded.
However, that will not necessarily produce the changes that China or Iran are hoping for. The Democrats are still short of the votes needed to overcome vetoes. The new division of power will guarantee gridlock for two years. It is going to get messy, but democracy is messy. What may look like chaos in a country like China, without any democratic elements, is what democracy looks like for a free people.
Jonathan Turley is the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
The DSA looters demand: “food, education, energy, medicine, and transportation… are common goods and utilities.”
And what will you do when the producers of that wealth declare: I quit.
You will be a skeleton of your former self, while standing naked in a dark room freezing to death.
And you will have asked for it.
Hello John,
So negative. It was prophesied long ago, Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
Do you really believe that we have come so far to be abandoned by our creator?
There are easy answers to our problems, if only one would spend a little time looking for them.
A great advance on civilization is very near that shall fulfill Christ’s word. It arises from economics.
Here it is: https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2021/03/31/a_case_for_government_as_a_borrower_to_end_tyranny_770572.html
Regards, Gary Marshall
“to start, the goals were never really clear.”
Look pal, I’m an idiot and I know his goal from the start has been to prevent the devil from acquiring a a thermonuclear bomb, You Boob!
Turley: Befuddled By Events
In this feature length column, Turley struggles to put in context the peril we now face. Now that socialists are taking over the government.
Nowhere in this column is there any mention of you-know-who; that orange man with yellow hair. Nor is there any mention of the war on Iran or gasoline prices.
Instead Turley imagines the disease of socialism has taken hold of our country. And Turley fears for billionaires, or something like that. It never occurred to Turley that TDS could become a blue tsunami washing across the country.
Amen. I agree wholeheartedly. I much prefer to die from a nuke than to have to deal with that Orange man 1 more second!
Estovir, you’d rather have Ukrainians die from Russian nukes.
The Democrats, RINOs, Islamists, Communists, and the RINOS and Groyper Neo-Nazis are spoken for America. In other words, Congress will soon be run by sub-73 IQ politicians pursuing their IslamoCommuNazi agenda.
The change in the voter population is permanent, not a pendulum swing. The demographics have radically changed . . . for the worse. The intelligent patriots are dying off and aren’t being replaced. Instead, the Leftist Indoctrination Entities (“LIEs”, formerly called “schools”, “colleges”, and “universities) have been mass-producing Leftist dupes, dopes, and dummies from their assembly lines at an unprecedented rate. Even some bright students, with IQs north of 130, emerge from the LIEs with IQs below 80, unable to think, reason, or to understand anything remotely reflecting reality.
The end result of their programmed National Suicide Mission is that America will end up a subsidiary of China, Russia, and the Islamists, as they take over America’s technology and Technology Companies, Seize all assets, and Carve up “America” among themselves.
America! It was a wonderful experiment. But the depraved and the degenerate have taken over America, and it’s soul has been crushed and defeated. But all good things must come to end. Farewell America! We will miss you!