By: dr. Matevž Tomšič
Just a few decades ago, one of the main differences between American and European politics was seen in the degree of ideological polarisation. While most European countries have a political spectrum clearly divided between the left and the right – with significant differences between the two camps and often intense conflicts – the divide in the United States was notably less pronounced.
Classic European-style socialist left-wing movements simply do not exist in the U.S., or, in terms of political influence, they are fairly irrelevant (whereas in established democracies of the Old World, socialists or social democrats have been one of the two main political forces since the early 20th century). Although the Democrats were positioned to the left of the Republicans, they were not “the left” in the European sense.
Moreover, a significant amount of overlap traditionally existed between the two main American political parties. Both tended to gravitate toward the political centre, with various factions within each. Part of the Republicans (primarily those from the northern states) leaned fairly liberal, while a segment of the Democrats (mostly from the South) was more conservative. Thus, the “left” wing of the former could be more liberal than the “right” wing of the latter.
Now, this is no longer the case. Both parties have homogenised and simultaneously radicalised ideologically, moving further from the centre. Among Republicans, radical conservatism and Christian fundamentalism have strengthened. The most striking example of this is the push to repeal the already established constitutional right to abortion. Not to mention that Donald Trump has managed to impose his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) agenda on the entire party. Among Democrats, various radical new leftist ideologies have gained strength, collectively referred to as “wokeism” (a mixture of radical feminism, multiculturalism, LGBTQ advocacy, eco-fundamentalism, and more). This manifests in various ideological excesses, open-border policies, and the protection of illegal immigrants, even those who have committed crimes, the promotion of gender “non-binarity” (the idea of an arbitrary number of genders), and similar views.
The consequence of this is an increasing polarisation in the political space and society in general. Over the past decade, especially with the emergence of Trump on the political scene, the political situation in the United States has become very tense. Today, it is not less but even more conflict-ridden than in most European countries, at least in the western part. This was clearly demonstrated in the last presidential campaign. Both candidates’ camps continuously warned of the consequences of the opponent’s victory. On one side, we heard that democracy would end if Trump won; on the other, that the same would happen if Harris won. In his characteristic style, Trump insulted the president, his vice president, the Democratic presidential candidate, and the Democratic administration, claiming that the United States was currently “occupied” by hostile forces and that only the elections (naturally, with his victory) would bring “liberation”. But Harris did not hold back either, openly calling her opponent an unhinged “fascist” obsessed with power and revenge, who aims to establish a personal dictatorship in the U.S.
Such a mindset is very familiar to Slovenians. Mutual hostilities are as old as the party system itself. Depicting a political opponent as the “embodiment of evil” is also quite common. The same goes for labels such as “fascist”, which leftists are fond of using for their opponents. Of course, the other side has its own set of negative labels. In such an atmosphere, it is hard to expect any semblance of normal cooperation in politics.