How tribalism, populism, nationalism, and identity politics are destroying democracy.
Jonah Goldberg argues in The Suicide of the West that only once in the last 250,000 years have humans encountered a way to break the eternal cycle of poverty, famine, and war that defined much of our history—in 18th-century England, with the emergence of liberal democratic capitalism. If democracy, individualism, and the free market were humanity's destiny, they would have appeared much earlier in our evolutionary climb.
In recent decades, the political virtues that elevated the West to its current position have become vices. We are increasingly driven to view our traditions as systems of oppression, exploitation, and privilege; the principle of freedom is under constant attack from all directions.
At a time when authoritarianism, tribalism, identity politics, nationalism, and the cult of personality are destroying democracies from within, Goldberg exposes the West's suicidal tendencies from both sides of the political spectrum. For the West to survive, we must recognize and be grateful for all that civilization has given us and rediscover the ideals that pulled us out of the mire of the past so that we don't return to it.
"In the best of circumstances, every important endeavor requires effort. The miracle of liberal democratic capitalism is not self-sustaining. Turn your back on its maintenance, and it will fall apart. Take it for granted, and people will begin to give in to their natural tribal impulses. The best will lose all conviction, and the worst will be overcome by passionate intensity. Things will collapse."
The Suicide of the West is a courageous and necessary book. An urgent call to action for democracies that are in danger because they have lost the will to defend the values and institutions that guarantee the freedom and prosperity necessary for the maintenance of society.
