The most immediate outcome of a Democratic win is therefore likely to be prolonged constitutional crisis before there is any recovery in democratic norms.
Do we want to return to democratic norms? Isn’t that what got us here? The fascists have taken advantage of some of the flaws and contradictions inherent to liberal democracy to undermine liberal democracy. If we somehow get back to normal, what’s stopping them from doing it again?
The problem with liberal democracy is the liberal part. Liberals want people to be liberated, to be as free as possible, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing except that some people will use their freedoms to cause harm to others, to enrich themselves at the expense of others, to lie and cheat and manipulate to get what they want, and liberals aren’t always very good at reigning those people in because doing so often requires limiting their freedoms and liberties in some way and liberals are very reluctant to do that. Liberals give these antisocial people an inch, they take a mile but instead of cutting them off the liberals just keep giving them more inches. And that’s what’s gotten us here.
Edit: let me put it this way: the fascists explicitly say that their intent is to completely destroy liberal democracy. They are very open and clear that they have every intention of totally annihilating liberal democracy, and even liberals themselves. And what do the liberals say in response? “I disagree with what you say but I’ll fight to death for your right to say it.” That just doesn’t seem very smart to me.
Do we want to return to democratic norms? Isn’t that what got us here? The fascists have taken advantage of some of the flaws and contradictions inherent to liberal democracy to undermine liberal democracy. If we somehow get back to normal, what’s stopping them from doing it again?
The problem with liberal democracy is the liberal part. Liberals want people to be liberated, to be as free as possible, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing except that some people will use their freedoms to cause harm to others, to enrich themselves at the expense of others, to lie and cheat and manipulate to get what they want, and liberals aren’t always very good at reigning those people in because doing so often requires limiting their freedoms and liberties in some way and liberals are very reluctant to do that. Liberals give these antisocial people an inch, they take a mile but instead of cutting them off the liberals just keep giving them more inches. And that’s what’s gotten us here.
Edit: let me put it this way: the fascists explicitly say that their intent is to completely destroy liberal democracy. They are very open and clear that they have every intention of totally annihilating liberal democracy, and even liberals themselves. And what do the liberals say in response? “I disagree with what you say but I’ll fight to death for your right to say it.” That just doesn’t seem very smart to me.