Tyranny in America

Two Harvard professors have fifteen proposals for how the government of the United States could become more consistent with the principles of democracy. In “Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point” (TM) (Crown, 2023), Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt build a case for Americans to modify the structure of the federal government.

In their previous book, “How Democracies Die” (HDD) (Crown, 2018), they reacted to Trump becoming president with an analysis of historical and current examples of societies losing their democratic institutions to autocratic regimes. Their point was it could happen in the United States. They concluded that this can be avoided if Americans reclaim a commitment to “egalitarianism, civility, sense of freedom, and shared purpose” (HDD, pg. 231).

Taken together Levitsky and Ziblatt’s books make an irrefutable case that the current state of America is the result of our Constitution and structure of government. They boldly say, “it is a simple fact: many of America’s venerated political institutions are not very democratic; indeed, they are not made for democracy” (TM, pg. 137 and HDD, pg.66). Getting beyond our political stalemate, polarization, the stranglehold that the wealthy have on the government and economy, and the use of racism to preserve privileges of whites, requires restructuring the government – the whole government – not just making a few adjustments.

As we plan to restructure our government so it supports a nation without racism, it is helpful to consider what other countries have learned with their government structures. And we need to understand why we are now so close to losing our democratic institutions. With an understanding of how we got to this point and a vision for the future, we can think creatively about how to structure our government to make our vision possible. The scholarship of these two professors addresses this task. Their first book, “How Democracies Die,” is particularly helpful in this regard. It gives multiple examples of times in the past when America and other nations have lost democratic institutions. But this is not something that only happens in history, they also show how this is happening in countries around the world today.

As Levitsky and Ziblatt admit, changing the structure of the government is difficult. However, there have been changes. The most difficult was ending slavery. Other changes have taken a long time, like the struggle for women’s voting rights. These changes have one thing in common. There were people who believed the changes were necessary and possible. These people did not give up.

Their books are helpful and worth reading for those who are confused about how America could get to the place where Trump is the leader of one of the two major political parties. Levitsky and Ziblatt explain how this happened and why, without a commitment by Americans to change the system of government, we will continue to be in danger of a demagogue gaining control of a political party. We can never overcome the deficiencies in the Constitution by just working harder to win elections. In fact, in recent decades people who believe in democracy have won every election.

But equally important is that they present a vision for American democracy that they call “multiracial democracy.” And then they propose fifteen Constitutional amendments and other changes to the way the federal government operates. Just like the founders who wrote our present Constitution wanted to have a government without a king, Levitsky and Ziblatt want to have a system where we are unlikely to end up with a dictator.

Because their fifteen proposals are based on their vision for America, they are an excellent example of how to move from vision to specifics of actually restructuring the government. So, before moving forward as a nation with their proposals, we need to have serious discussion about the vision. Their vision may save us from a demagogue, but is that our only hope for the future? What do they mean by multiracial democracy?

Levitsky and Ziblatt define multiracial democracy as “a political system with regular, free, and fair elections in which adult citizens of all ethnic groups possess the right to vote and basic civil liberties such as freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association.” They add, “It is not enough for these rights to exist on paper: individuals of all ethnic backgrounds must enjoy equal protection of democratic and civil rights under the law” (TM, pg.3-4). In the notes they clarify, “A more accurate term might be ‘multiethnic democracy,’ because the concept encompasses not only different races but also ethnic groups (such as Latinos or Jews) that are not based on race” (TM, pg.262-263).

Levitsky and Ziblatt note that “basic civil and voting rights” are “an essential component” of multiracial democracy” (TM, pg 80). These are the only components that they describe. Their vision is limited to these components. At Ending Racism USA, we believe that when we restructure the federal government and rewrite our Constitution the vision for the future needs to include more than basic civil rights and voting rights.

At Ending Racism USA, we dream of a nation where democracy is the foundation for a multicultural nation where everyone has civil rights, but more than that, barriers are torn down so no identity group faces greater obstacles than any other identity group. Minorities need Constitutional protection from a majority. Levitsky and Ziblatt’s analysis and proposals are important in fixing the system so that we will not have a tyranny of a minority in the future. But it is equally important as we restructure the government that it is designed to empower all individuals and identity groups. We don’t want a tyranny of the majority, either.