How to defeat Donald Trump
The Story
Where Trump is right
Phew.
About half of Americans favour Donald Trump over Jo Biden. You either have to declare half of the population of the USA crazy or believe that there are solid reasons that motivate them to vote for Trump.
What reasons?
If you want to defeat populist politicians, you have to understand why people vote for them. In the case of Donald Trump, I believe there are three reasons.
I am all ears.
First, mass migration from the south to the north. Trump understood very early on that this would cause cultural, economic, and, in the end also, political shifts. The reality that politics in the centre and left has not faced for a long time is that migration needs borders – in a twofold sense: the border around your own country and that of a quantity limit. Some call people who demand this: racists. But enforcing control at the border isn't racism. It's a requirement of statehood and peoplehood, which any nation must protect and cherish.
Number two, please.
Second, Trump addressed an economic problem. The labour-force participation rate in the USA had never recovered from the financial crisis of 2008. And there was a rising death rate among middle-aged white people and declining life expectancy. Also, more than 12 per cent of all adult males had a felony conviction on their record, leaving them in the shadowlands of American life. So, parts of the American population had real (economic) problems. Trump promised to help them. He spoke like one of them; he vowed to make their lives great again ("Make America great again") and promised to make a dream come true.
Number three.
There is a culture war going on in the USA, and not just there. Maybe it's also a generational struggle like it has ever existed. So perhaps nothing new. The younger generation questions the attitudes and ideals of the older generation. And, as usual, they pull them to pieces. They move the language (more gender equal) and question the narratives of historiography (Were the heroes of the past really heroes?). The problem with that: There is a new narrative missing of what society as a whole could be proud of. There is just criticism; the younger generation creates nothing new and positive. Everything is terrible, and things are even getting worse (climate change). As I said, maybe it has always been that way: the young denounce the old. What is new, however, is that older people are the majority in current societies because of the declining birth rates in recent decades. In a democracy, the majority decides. As a result, change is voted out.
How To Save Democracy
Firstly, as tricky as it is, we need a migration policy that not only decides who is allowed to enter a country but also enforces this decision. Second, we need progress and growth, and everyone must participate in this growth. Plus, we need a welfare state that supports the ones in need. Third, despite all the justified criticism of the young against the old, we need a common positive narrative. Something that sticks together. What other than the ideal of democracy can this be? Where all people can live in dignity. Where power is only ever granted temporarily by all people in free, secret elections. Where everyone is equal before the law. Democracy is the prerequisite for a fulfilling life. At a time when it is becoming clear that democracy cannot be taken for granted, advocating for it could create the cohesion that we as a societiy need.