Liberal Democracy vs. Transnational Progressivism: The Future of the Ideological Civil War Within the West
The Key Concepts of Transnational Progressivism
(1) The ascribed group over the individual citizen
(2) A dichotomy of groups: Oppressor groups vs. Victim groups, with immigrant groups designated as victims
(3) Group proportionalism as the goal of ìfairnessî
(4) The values of all dominant institutions must be changed to reflect the perspectives of the victim groups
(5) The Demographic Imperative
(6) The Redefinition of democracy and ìdemocratic idealsî
(7) Deconstruction of National Narratives and National Symbols
(8) Promotion of the concept of Post-National Citizenship.
(9) The Idea of Transnationalism as a major conceptual tool.
Conclusion:
Scholars, publicists, and many others in the Western world, especially the United States, original home of constitutional democracy, have for the past several decades been arguing furiously over the most fundamental political ideas. Talk of a ìculture war,î however, is somewhat misleading, because the arguments over transnational vs. national citizenship, multiculturalism vs. assimilation, and global governance vs. national sovereignty are not simply cultural, but ideological and philosophical. In a word, they are about political philosophyóin the sense that they pose such Aristotelian questions as: What kind of government is best? What is citizenship? What is the best regime?
In America, there is an elemental argument about whether to preserve, improve, and transmit the American regime to future generations or to transform it into a new and different type of polity. In the terms of contemporary political science we are arguing about ìregime maintenanceî vs. ìregime transformation.î
In the final analysis, the challenge to traditional American concepts of citizenship, patriotism, and assimilation from transnational progressivism is total and fundamental. It is a challenge to the regime itself, or to American liberal democracy. If our system is based not on individual rights, but on group consciousness; not on equality of citizenship, but on group preferences for non-citizens (including illegal immigrants) and for certain categories of citizens; not on majority rule within constitutional limits but on power- sharing by different ethnic, racial, gender, and linguistic groups; not on constitutional law, but on transnational law; not on immigrants becoming Americans, but on migrants linked between transnational communities; then the regime will cease to be ìconstitutional,î ìliberal,î ìdemocratic,î and ìAmerican,î in any real sense of those terms, but will become in reality a new hybrid system that is ìpost-constitutional,î ìpost-liberal,î ìpost-democratic,î and ìpost-American.î
This intramural Western conflict between liberal democracy and transnational progressivism began at some point in the mid to late 20th century; it should continue well into the 21st century. It could well turn out to be a perpetual conflict with no permanent winner or loser, a continuous end game that is never concluded. From the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 until the attacks on the heart of the American republic on September 11, 2001, another ìdate which will live in infamy,î the transnational progressives were on the offensive. Since 9/11, however the forces of the liberal-democratic nation state and the American regime in particular appear to be reasserting themselves. Clearly, in the post-September 11 milieu there is a window of opportunity for those who favor a reaffirmation of the traditional norms of liberal-democratic patriotism and a rejection of post-democratic transnational values. Whether that segment of the American intelligentsia committed to liberal democracy as it has hitherto been practiced on these shores has the political will to seize this opportunity is not yet clear. Key areas to watch include official government rationales for the use of force and the conduct of the war; the use and non-use of international law; assimilation- immigration policy; border control; civic education in the public schools; and the state of the patriotic narrative in popular culture.
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