1. A brief riff: the American intellectual right was very anti-democratic before mid-1970s (see National Review on Franco) & very anti-democratic since (Thiel being prime example). What was exception was brief window (1970s-2008) when right was relatively pro-democratic https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1159495342204887040 …
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9. Really believing in democracy means being willing to give up what you love if it goes against the popular will. Part of the greatness of Tocqueville & JS Mill is that they accepted democracy meant giving up aristocratic high culture & laissez-faire economics.
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Is that why Europe's parliamentary systems foster social democracy and a conservatism that seems moderate in American eyes, in a way that the US doesn't?
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Maybe because parliamentary systems in Europe have fewer of the anti-democratic "roadblocks" which in the US help to prevent popular support for social democracy being implemented in law? Filibuster, veto, electoral college, how seats in the senate are apportioned, etc.
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I think 2016 proves that idea false. Maybe US not robust democracy, but why such a large contingent so willing to vote *against* social democracy. Something else going on here, not explainable by failure of democracy.
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The reason we don’t have social democracy here is 1. racists and the Religious Right happily vote against their own economic interests, 2. Republican plutocrats take advantage of that to push their own agenda, 3. undemocratic aspects of our system - Senate, EC, Gerrymandering.
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Another part was the GOP's war against competitive markets from 1980-present. The Chicago School, the Federalist Society, and K Street lobbyists worked in concert to strengthen concentrations of wealth and market power, while weakening the positions of consumers and employees.
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