 First edition | |
| Author | Jonah Goldberg |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | |
| Publisher | Crown Forum |
Publication date | April 24, 2018 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 464 |
| ISBN | 978-1-101-90493-0 |
Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy is a book by conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg. [1]
The book warns against illiberal forms of populism and argues that the West is increasingly facing the risk of decline. [1]
Goldberg argues that the "virtues" of the United States have become "vices" in modern U.S. culture. The U.S. is turned from a City Upon a Hill to a force for darkness and evil in the world. [2] He rejects the concept of a political "end of history" as advocated by Karl Marx, Francis Fukuyama, and other thinkers. Goldberg states that there is no guarantee that liberal democracy will win the battle of global ideological supremacy. Nevertheless, Goldberg considers liberal democracy the best system to ensure political freedom. [1] He goes on to argue that the undermining of the idea of American exceptionalism has had disastrous consequences for the United States. Instead of highlighting the brilliance of the U.S. Constitution and the Rule of Law, Americans increasingly see the U.S. past and traditions as a uniform "system of oppression, exploitation, and white privilege." [2]
Goldberg calls the invention of capitalism and liberal democracy "the miracle," crediting it for rapid human technological development, more wealth, and a more just and peaceful society. [1] [3] He warns however that this mode of development surfs on the waves of stability, and that there exists a potential of moral and democratic decline in every nation or people-group, no matter how theoretically consolidated. [3] He argues that the U.S. is becoming increasingly susceptible to democratic backsliding due to partisanship and polarization, and that the consensus view of democratic consolidation is likely false, with the ability of advanced democracies undergoing decline. [4] [5] [6] Additionally, he states that then-current U.S. President Donald Trump and other recent U.S. presidents such as Barack Obama are undermining the concept of U.S. exceptionalism. [7]
On May 8, 2018, it ranked 5 on The New York Times bestseller's list. [8]
Michael Brendan Dougherty of the conservative magazine National Review (where Goldberg was a Senior Editor at the time of release) generally praised the book, comparing it to Douglas Murray's book The Strange Death of Europe. However, he disagrees with part of the book's conclusion, saying that he does not believe that free trade or inventions are under threat. Dougherty argues instead that religious and moral decline is behind it. [9]
Edmund Fawcett of The Financial Times called the book declinist, mockingly comparing it to past predictions of the decline of the Western World. However, Fawcett agreed that modifications to laws were needed. [10]
Adam Keiper of The Weekly Standard described it as "big, baggy, sometimes frustrating, often brilliant". Keiper favorably compares Goldberg's book to James Burnham's 1964 book, also titled Suicide of the West, saying that while Burnham's book was cynically fatalistic in describing a similar premise, Goldberg emphasizes potential changes that could be made. [11]
In New York , Park MacDougald described the book as "idea-free." The book is "dull, shallow, and a waste of intelligent readers' time," MacDougald writes. It "can only be taken seriously by people for whom ideas matter less than the idea of ideas mattering." [12]
The End of History and the Last Man is a 1992 book of political philosophy by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama which argues that with the ascendancy of Western liberal democracy—which occurred after the Cold War (1945–1991) and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)—humanity has reached "not just ... the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: That is, the end-point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government."
Populism is a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group with "the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed in the late 19th century and has been applied to various politicians, parties and movements since that time, often as a pejorative. Within political science and other social sciences, several different definitions of populism have been employed, with some scholars proposing that the term be rejected altogether.
National Review is an American conservative right-libertarian editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich Lowry, and its editor is Ramesh Ponnuru.
Jonah Jacob Goldberg is an American conservative syndicated columnist, author, political analyst, and commentator. The founding editor of National Review Online, from 1998 until 2019, he was an editor at National Review. Goldberg writes a weekly column about politics and culture for the Los Angeles Times. In October 2019, Goldberg became the founding editor of the online opinion and news publication The Dispatch. Goldberg has authored the No. 1 New York Times bestsellerLiberal Fascism, released in January 2008; The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas, released in 2012; and Suicide of the West, which was published in April 2018 and also became a New York Times bestseller, reaching No. 5 on the list the following month.
The term "illiberal democracy" describes a governing system that hides its "nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures". There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy or whether it even exists.
The Republican Party in the United States includes several factions, or wings. During the 19th century, Republican factions included the Half-Breeds, who supported civil service reform; the Radical Republicans, who advocated the immediate and total abolition of slavery, and later advocated civil rights for freed slaves during the Reconstruction era; and the Stalwarts, who supported machine politics.
Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning is a book by Jonah Goldberg, who was then a syndicated columnist and the editor-at-large of National Review Online. In contrast to the mainstream view among historians and political scientists that fascism is a far-right ideology, Goldberg argues in the book that fascist movements were and are left-wing. Published in January 2008, it reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list of hardcover non-fiction in its seventh week on the list.
Tablet is a conservative online magazine focused on Jewish news and culture. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is supported by the Nextbook foundation. Its editor-in-chief is Alana Newhouse.
Neo-nationalism, or new nationalism, is an ideology and political movement built on the basic characteristics of classical nationalism. It developed to its final form by applying elements with reactionary character generated as a reaction to the political, economic and socio-cultural changes that came with globalization during the second wave of globalization in the 1980s.
Anti-politics is a term used to describe opposition to, or distrust in, traditional politics. It is closely connected with anti-establishment sentiment and public disengagement from formal politics. Anti-politics can indicate practices and actors that seek to remove political contestation from the public arena, leading to political apathy among citizens; when used this way the term is similar to depoliticisation. Alternatively, if politics is understood as encompassing all social institutions and power relations, anti-politics can mean political activity stemming from a rejection of "politics as usual".
Salvatore Babones is an American sociologist, and an associate professor at the University of Sydney.
Trumpism is an authoritarian political movement that follows the political ideologies associated with Donald Trump and his political base incorporating ideologies such as right-wing populism, national conservatism, neo-nationalism, and neo-fascism. Trumpist rhetoric heavily features anti-immigrant, xenophobic, nativist, and racist attacks against minority groups. Other identified aspects include conspiracist, isolationist, Christian nationalist, protectionist, anti-feminist, and anti-LGBT beliefs. Trumpists and Trumpians are terms that refer to individuals exhibiting its characteristics.
Eric Peter Kaufmann is a Canadian professor of politics from the University of Buckingham. He was appointed in October 2023, following his resignation from his post at Birkbeck, University of London, after two decades of service, citing political differences. He is a specialist on Orangeism in Northern Ireland, nationalism, and political and religious demography. He has authored, co-authored, and edited books and other publications on these subjects.
Democratic backsliding is a process of regime change towards autocracy that makes the exercise of political power by the public more arbitrary and repressive. This process typically restricts the space for public contestation and political participation in the process of government selection. Democratic decline involves the weakening of democratic institutions, such as the peaceful transition of power or free and fair elections, or the violation of individual rights that underpin democracies, especially freedom of expression. Democratic backsliding is the opposite of democratization.
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life is a 2018 nonfiction book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former options trader with a background in the mathematics of probability and statistics.
Edmund Fawcett is a British political journalist and author.
Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities is a 2018 non-fiction book written by Eric Kaufmann, a professor at Birkbeck College, University of London. Described by The Economist as a "monumental study of ethno-demographic change", Whiteshift covers politics in both Europe and North America and looks into the political views of the populist right. Kaufmann argues that the rise of Donald Trump in America and the populist right in Europe is a reaction to sweeping demographic change rather than to "economic anxiety".
Why Liberalism Failed is a 2018 book by Patrick Deneen, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. It criticizes both forms of American liberalism – "classical liberalism," typically called in America "libertarianism"; and "progressive/modern liberalism," often simply called "liberal."
Populism in the United States reaches back to the Presidency of Andrew Jackson in the 1830s and to the People's Party in the 1890s. It has made a resurgence in modern-day politics in not only the United States but also democracies around the world. Populism is an approach to politics which views "the people" as being opposed to "the elite" and is often used as a synonym of anti-establishment; as an ideology, it transcends the typical divisions of left and right and has become more prevalent in the US with the rise of disenfranchisement and apathy toward the establishment. The definition of populism is a complex one as due to its mercurial nature; it has been defined by many different scholars with different focuses, including political, economic, social, and discursive features. Populism is often split into two variants in the US, one with a focus on culture and the other that focuses on economics.
National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy is a 2018 book by political scientists Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, published by Pelican Books.