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Liberal Democracy is Under Attack
April 15, 2019 (Analysis) Liberal Democracy is under attack. This is not just happening in the United States. Nor is this limited to the American president. We can speak of this phenomena in countries as diverse as Brazil, the United Kingdom, Israel, and yes, Mexico. There are good reasons why we are at this historic moment. This is one pregnant with danger for democracy and our collective future. The last time the West adopted far right (and left) ideologies, it faced the greatest test of that generation. A global war is one that could involve nuclear weapons. That was the last good war, world war two.
Out of that global disaster, institutions emerged to try to avoid the rise of extremism. These institutions have created new ways}of dealing with international affairs They have given us a way to understand and accept the world as is, and maintain the peace, for the most part. Whether this was the North American Treaty Organization or the United Nations, they meant to help people improve their lives or be safe from an attack from another form of extremism. This was the Soviet system, which came out of similar economic and social forces like fascism.
We are living through a similar historic moment. Extremism is taking hold due to the desperation of working class people suffering from a deep-seated fear that others will replace them in society and for jobs. They…