15 July 2023
Republican Schizophrenia
The Republican Party that has survived the winnowing it suffered under the Trump Presidency Is resultantly dominated by politicians who have abandoned any policy objective but the furtherance of their own careers. Success in winning voter support was gained in 2016 by satisfying the frustration of a near majority of citizens with their perceived loss of control over their financial and civic affairs to wealthier and better educated “elites.” If more broad minded voters are careless of the need to act vigilantly during another presidential election, they will abdicate again their influence over federal government policy.
What remains of the Republican Party is a coterie of politicos who champion the personal needs and priorities of the large number of people who place their personal interest above the general welfare. But when challenged by rivals who seek to serve the common good, they counter by arguing that their opponents advocate sacrificing their supporters’ personal ability to pursue material success to the collective interests of disadvantaged segments of the population.
Those erstwhile victors have transformed the Republican Party into an alliance of single-minded gamers whose political objective is to make a comfortable living. The means for accomplishing that are by offering to use the tools of government to promote the narrow interests of each individual member of the nation, not the nation as a whole. Those interests can be defined independently of the rest of citizens and must maximize an individual’s perceived likelihood of obtaining an advantage in the zero-sum game of life.
The perverse philosophy of these Republicans is that only those voters who subordinate the general welfare to their own success constitute a reliable democratic electoral base. Unfortunately, it takes an evangelistic effort to remind the populace of their stake in making the government work equitably for everyone.
Liberal democratic government is not a market—not of ideas nor of individual interests. It must have principles and ideals. Some deride that philosophy by sarcastically calling it “woke.” Others in the Republican Party also distrust the altruism that characterized the founders of the American republic. Liberal democracy always benefits from vigorous debate between at least two parties who share a commitment to advancing general over narrow individual rights.
Thankfully, the dominance of a group of leaders who lack that shared interest may have been only brief. There can be no failure constantly to champion the common interest, by all principal political parties, if the American experiment is to continue.
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