Welcome to the Fall 2020 semester at the Graduate Center, CUNY. This semester “The Promises and Perils of Democracy” project will explore threats to democracy. We invited a range of stellar commentators on some of the most important threats to democracy: The Triumph of Injustice on October 23, Racism and Democracy on October 24, New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy on November 20, the Future of Global Capitalism on December 10, all at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Read up below and please join us for some or all of these events.
Democracy seemed to have a good run. After the end of the Cold War, an unprecedented number of countries held free elections, made strides towards freedom of the press, and adhered to the rule of law. This trend ended in 2006. Since then, according to Freedom House 113 countries have seen a decline in their democracy score, while only 62 countries have experienced a net improvement. This trend has been accelerating in the last few years, with civil liberties declining even in countries formerly known as champions of democracy, such as the United States.
So thinking about “threats to democracy” is, unfortunately, a timely topic. Economic inequality, a long-term prime among these threats, has gained new urgency. How to reconcile the free market with democracy has been a question since mass participation in politics was first adopted by an increasing number of countries around the time of World War I. The two non-democratic answers that were tried and eventually failed were National Socialism and Communism. A more successful solution was found in the adoption of welfare state provisions that cushioned the more extreme shocks of free markets and put workers on a more equal footing with capital by increasing their bargaining power through unionization. This specific kind of market embeddedness (Karl Polanyi) worked unprecedentedly well for the advanced capitalist economies of the global North – the so called Scandinavian models of social democracy. Today, in the context of globalized economies, this historic compromise between capital and labor seems to have come to an end. Increasing economic inequality within rich capitalist societies; disproportionate influence of small groups and corporate interests and a pushback against labor rights have all contributed to a declining trust in democratic institutions and democracy itself. Brexit and the election of Donald Trump can both be interpreted as a reaction to an increase in inequality in a globalized regulatory and economic context, which is also fueling authoritarian waves elsewhere.
On October 23 we invited a stellar group of experts to talk about this Triumph of Injustice. Panelists include Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman—economists who talk about their book The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay and then discuss their conclusions with Lily Batchelder, NYU law professor and former deputy director of President Obama’s National Economic Council, and Paul Krugman, distinguished professor at The Graduate Center. Janet Gornick, professor of political science and sociology and director of the Stone Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY, will moderate.
Meanwhile, new threats are emerging. Climate change has been on the political agenda for years but has gained new urgency in the political discussion around the world. Could a state of climate emergency give rise to a new kind of eco-authoritarianism? Is democracy by its very nature unfit to deal with issues that require a longer time horizon? How can we reconcile the scientific evidence with the politically (and democratically!) induced unwillingness to take action?
These questions are closely related to another threat to democracy, fake news and conspiracy theories. More precisely, the consensus that democratic politics has to be rooted in facts seems to have come to an end. Making factually false claims no longer ends political careers but can bolster them. Disappointment with an uneducated and ill-informed electorate has given rise to claims that there is a “case against democracy”. How should democracies deal with a citizenry that is subject to an ever more fragmented and polarized media environment? What are appropriate answers to these new challenges to democracy? For November 20, 2019 the democracy project invites Nancy L. Rosenblum to deliver the the Irving Howe Memorial Lecture and talk about The New Conspiracism and the Aussault on Democracy. Nancy L. Rosenblum, who is Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita at Harvard University, addresses the crisis of democracy brought about by conspiracy theories and fake news. She will be drawing on on ideas from her book A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy.
While these threats to democracy have been discussed with a new sense of urgency due to the rise of authoritarian nationalism and populism, other threats to democracy have been present for a long time. Where political institutions and structural conditions exhibit biases based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, health, age, or any other personal characteristic, democracy was and is still deficient and, therefore, threatened. Against this backdrop, Johnnetta Betsch Cole, president of the National Council of Negro Women and former president of Spelman College will moderate a panel on Racism and Democracy on October 24. The discussion will delve into causes of systemic racism and white supremacy and discusses possible solutions.
Threats to democracy also arise from Inequality on a global scale. The inequality between countries is still staggering and bolsters authoritarian strongmen who promise an impoverished electorate to play catch-up with the global North. Brasil’s nationalist Jair Bolsonaro can be viewed as an example for a process that is, at least in part, driven by global inequality. And what happens now that, globally speaking, capitalism is the only game in town? We will hear some answers on December 10, 2019, from Branko Milanovic, visiting presidential professor and senior scholar at the Stone Center for Socio-Economic Inequality at The Graduate Center, Janet Gornic and Marshall Steinbaum, assistant professor of economics at the University of Utah and co-editor of After Piketty: The Agenda for Economics and Inequality, who will be discussing The Future of Global Capitalism.
Of course, thinking about threats to democracy serves a purpose. If we identify threats to democracy and get a profound handle on their root causes, we will be in a better position to fight for more democracy where those threats emerge. Please stay tuned for further information throughout the semester, and join us for our events!