American Suicide

I must admit I am a bit mystified by the current state of American politics. By almost any standard one can conceive of, America has been, and currently still is, one of the most successful nations the world has ever seen. The US economy represents almost 26% of global GDP and has been outgrowing the rest of the world since 2010. GDP per capita is larger than most countries except for a few outliers like Monaco and Switzerland. The United States has, by far, the most powerful military force in the world and spends as much as the next eight largest countries (some allies/some adversaries) combined. Millions upon millions of people from around the world try to enter our country (legally and illegally) in order to be a part of American success (at least until the Trump administration clamped down on immigration).

So why are Americans so unhappy about living in America as the headlines of almost every news outlet says? Why do almost 60% of Americans believe our country is heading in the wrong direction according to an average of pollscalculated by Real Clear Politics? An average that has been negative for twenty years? Even before Trump if you can imagine that!

I am the first to admit that America has not always lived up to its aspirational ideals and principles. Only about 33 thousand people voted to elect George Washington our first president (that was only about one percent of our total population at that time). Eventually all white men became eligible to vote. It took a bloody civil war and several constitutional amendments to secure the legal right of black men to vote (although even then they were still blocked by Jim Crow laws). But eventually women and minorities were enfranchised through the bipartisan efforts of both parties. That’s progress. Slow progress – yes, but progress.

The Framers of our Constitution got it right. The preamble asserts that our goal is to create a “more perfect union.” Not a perfect union but a more perfect union. Perfection is unattainable. We are, after all, only human, but as Americans we are dedicated to improvement.

But if America is not working exactly like we want it to, does that mean that we should just chuck it? Stop the experiment and start anew? That means chucking the ideals and principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence as well as the mechanics outlined in the US Constitution. That’s what the Democratic Socialists of America want to do. In the program that they outline on their webpage they want to get rid of the Senate, the Presidency and the Supreme Court. And more. They want to get rid of all the checks and balances the Founders included that have preserved our democratic republic for 250 years. They aren’t shy about it. Its right on their website.

But they also want to get rid of democracy itself even though they will furiously deny that. After all Democratic is part of their name. And their website talks a lot about democracy. But don’t be fooled. They may talk about democracy a lot, but socialism and democracy are not compatible. Democracy is based on the rights of the individual – one man (or woman) one vote. But socialism is based on the supposed common good, a common good that trumps the rights of the individual. But without individual rights there is no democracy.

John Adams was right when he said, “There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” America has defeated fascists (Nazi Germany), imperialists (the Japanese empire) and communists (the Soviet Union). But Adams recognized that it is our own self-absorption and delusion, not foreign adversaries, that will undo us. If America is going to commit suicide, the Democratic Socialists of America would seem a likely instrument of our destruction. People on the left believe that American success means things should be free and easily available (free health care, free housing, short work weeks, universal basic income – even though they don’t understand who will provide these benefits or how they will pay for them). But Arthur Brooks noted in a recent interview, which was the basis for my recent commentary, There is no Deus Ex Machina, July 21, 2026) humans were designed to struggle. Excessive leisure (and its companion idleness) drive us mad.

If you think America under a socialist DSA administration will be anything like the America you grew up in, think again. If you think that socialism will make your life better, think again. If you think that democratic socialism will relent if you change your mind, it will be too late. Your life (and the lives of those you love) will be in for a struggle you cannot imagine.