With the inauguration of new U.S. President Donald Trump, democratic politics are being confronted with changes of the magnitude that could happen only once in a century. The change this time is not for the better — but in the direction of its collapse.
Democracy in the 19th century was a restricted form of representative politics, with the participation limited to wealthy male citizens. The 20th century democracy was marked by universal suffrage that then extended to women, which aimed for equality of people based on political participation of the broad masses and accompanied by income redistribution. Among the key actors that promoted such a transition in democracy were social democratic political parties — or the liberal elements in the U.S. Democratic Party.
And democratic politics in the 21st century might be called politics as a show — in which economically deprived masses cheer agitating leaders to vent their frustration amid the decline in the government's redistribution functions. Trump's policies lack coherence, and what props up his administration is his showmanship in which he keeps on sending stinging messages. In Western Europe, a number of agitator-politicians hope to follow in his footsteps.
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