Andrew Sullivan has written the best article I've seen on the current presidential election. Found in New York Magazine and titled Democracies End When They Become too Democratic, it may also be the best political article that I've read in the past five years. I've missed Sullivan's writing, so I'm glad that he's found a home at New York Magazine.
The article is a fantastic look at Donald Trump, or more correctly, at what the rise of his candidacy tells us about America and our democracy. Moreover, it also reverses that examination and explores what America and our democracy can tell us about Trump. Pulling no punches to the right or left, it starts with the philosophy of Plato and weaves its way through the rise of dictators and tyranny in the time since.
When the dust settles in the years to come and political science professors put together reading lists for students to educate them on this election -- and by extension on other similar circumstances -- I am sure that this writing will be among those often chosen to a part of their curriculum. Of course, we as a nation would be much better off if our citizens generally read such rigorous and thoughtful work on an ongoing basis. Since that isn't in the cards, I can at least point readers to this particular article. If I could mandate that all of my fellow citizens read but one thing this year, this article would be it.
23 May 2016
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