How to bring democracy to America
Imagine that you, as a philanthropist or activist who wants to help spread democracy across the world, read about a country described as a “flawed democracy.” The report describes the problems that country is facing in this way:
low levels of trust in political institutions and the media; institutional gridlock; excessive influence of lobbyists, interest groups and the mega-rich; sharp economic and social inequalities; and an absence of social consensus on core national values.
What might you do to help address these problems?
The country in question, in case you haven’t guessed, is the United States of America, and the quote is from The Economist Democracy Index, an in-depth study of the health of democracies worldwide. The United States hasn’t met the threshold for a “full democracy” on this list since 2015.
Americans like to think they invented democracy and freedom, and that their country is the most democratic and free one on earth by definition. That idea doesn’t stand up to basic scrutiny, though, and statistical analyses help point to why. The Democracy Index is based on ratings of the electoral process, the functioning of government, political participation, the political culture, and civil liberties. The United States has been declining on several of those fronts for decades now, and scores especially low on both functioning government and political culture.
People talk about democracy as something we need to fight in order to keep, and I agree. But I also think it’s not enough to defend democracy—you have to build it back after it declines, and the job of building it is never fully done. We must do more than fight not to lose (more). We need to keep bringing democracy to America.
Because democracy isn’t just a particular system of government. It’s an agreement you build as a society, a way of life together. It’s an ideal to strive toward, not one that anyone has yet achieved. I don’t think ancient Athens, a city-state where only certain male citizens could vote, was particularly democratic, despite making significant contributions to our idea of what democracy is. I don’t think America was democratic before 1920, when women were given the right to vote, or before 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was passed. America, too, has made significant contributions to our idea of what democracy is, but democracy here is and has always been a work in progress, and not without setbacks.
America made democratic process after the civil war, when formerly enslaved people were given the right to vote. It backslid during Jim Crow, when that right was taken away through various schemes. None of this was inevitable.
America is not a good or perfect democracy right now, but it could be. Getting there requires a new way of thinking. It’s not enough to fight—we need to build.
None of us can take on all of this, and what the specifics look like will depend on you – your community, your work, your sphere of influence. The important thing is to look for real ways you can help bring democracy to this county – what can we do to push those declining metrics of democracy back in the right direction? If you’re a journalist, like I am, your job is to do what you can to build back trust, to earn back the respect lost by decades of metric-based clickbait journalism. Another way to help build democracy, as a citizen, is to intentionally seek out and support quality information sources instead of passively believing whatever comes through your social feeds. You could support institutions that make democracy possible but are under attack, like your local library or public radio station. You can start a group in your town that gets together at a brewery and talks about ways you could improve your community, or join a group that’s already doing that.
It’s less about the specifics and more about the story we’re telling. It’s easy, when you think of this as a fight, to feel like it can only be won or lost. That’s certainly how the fascists frame things—as a battle to return to some lost golden age. That’s not the project of democracy. We know that we don’t have a full democracy now, and that we didn’t have one before. We’re not longing for the past—we’re trying to build a future.
We are trying to bring democracy to America, every day. It’s on all of us, together, to figure out how.
What to do if you find a shipwreck and other practical advice I wrote this week
I had a great time writing about what to do if you find a shipwreck over at PopSci. The good news: it’s not impossible! The bad news: you don’t get to keep any treasure. I’ve had a really great time lately writing these sorts of articles, well outside of my wheelhouse. I hope you like it too. Here are a few other things I wrote in the past week.
Why an Apple TV Box Is More Private Than Your Smart TV (but Not Perfect) Lifehacker If you want to balance privacy and easy of use this is your best option.
You Can Try macOS 26 Tahoe (for Free) Without Risking Your Current Device Lifehacker If you want to see what Liquid Glass is like here’s how.
Use These Apps to Find the Best Places to Camp, Hike, Swim, and Explore This Summer Lifehacker Get outside!
