“Democracy,” USA

Abstract

What does it mean to be an effective citizen in a democracy? Answering this question requires unpacking “democracy” and an analysis of institutions that systematically disempower and alienate citizens. This paper briefly examines the contributions of psychoanalysis to understanding democracy and authoritarianism. It scrutinizes U.S. governance institutions and points to democratic deficits and backsliding present even before Trump 1.0 and 2.0. These range from the Electoral College, the Senate, and the Supreme Court to the Federal Communications Commission. All contributed to institutionalizing minority rule and elite capture. Governance institutions failed to deliver what the American people tell opinion pollsters they want, including affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, regulation of industry and finance, reduced educational, medical and housing debt, a serious climate change policy, an economy that provides meaningful work, abolition of the Electoral College, the popular vote for president, and labor, reproductive and consumer rights. Elite capture limits effective citizenship in multiple ways. Social exclusion involves the systemic, structural exclusion of people from institutions to which they are supposed to have access and from rights to which they are entitled. Elite capture and social exclusion have very real material effects on the population. They also deeply structure subjectivity and fuel beliefs in conspiracy theories and authoritarian demagogues. A full discussion of Trump 1.0 and 2.0 is beyond the scope of this paper. The rise of a deeply authoritarian and reactionary movement and administration, however, cannot be separated from earlier processes of systemic exclusion and disinformation that left significant portions of the electorate feeling enraged and abandoned.