Author: David Frum Source: The Atlantic Publication Date: March 2017 Issue Link: How to Build an Autocracy
Stephan: David Frum is a Republican of the old order, when we had a two party system that was grounded in real ethics, and the best for the country. O.K. Not 100 per cent, but enough that things moved forward. Before we got to what we have now. Frum has written a brilliant essay. He has missed a few points, things are worse than he saw them when he wrote which can't have been more than a few days ago. For instance we already have ICE agents breaking in to people's houses and workplaces to haul out illegal immigrants, and I think it is going to get worse. I also think it is going to excite a massive citizen pushback, and help to cement the emerging social progressive wellbeing oriented movement. We are seeing the 8 Laws acted out in front of our eyes.
Citizen action took us to where we are now. Only citizen action will save us. And it must be with the intent to create wellbeing.
President Donald Trump waves to people from a balcony Credit: Getty
It’s 2021, and President Donald Trump will shortly be sworn in for his second term. The 45th president has visibly aged over the past four years. He rests heavily on his daughter Ivanka’s arm during his infrequent public appearances.
Fortunately for him, he did not need to campaign hard for reelection. His has been a popular presidency: Big tax cuts, big spending, and big deficits have worked their familiar expansive magic. Wages have grown strongly in the Trump years, especially for men without a college degree, even if rising inflation is beginning to bite into the gains. The president’s supporters credit his restrictive immigration policies and his TrumpWorks infrastructure program.
The president’s critics, meanwhile, have found little hearing for their protests and complaints. A Senate investigation of Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign sputtered into inconclusive partisan wrangling. Concerns about Trump’s purported conflicts of interest excited debate in Washington but never drew much attention from the wider American public.
