An unconscious indictment of the “strong leader” paradigm of leadership, from Mark Sumner on Daily Kos:
As the self-immolation over the border deal showed, it’s not enough for Republicans to just swear fealty to Trump. They have to surrender all ideas of independent agency. They don’t just have no platform, they’re not allowed to have ideas. Even candidates who have made a show of endorsing Trump and enjoyed his favor in the past can find themselves the target of some of that boundless retribution if they cross an invisible line.
At least some of the pro-Trump sentiment is a reaction to the deliberations and general slowness of government; there’s a belief that if only we had a strong leader with the right ideals at heart, we’d quickly get everything under control!
Which makes the above observation so interesting. Mr. Trump has managed, through his needy narcissism and bad judgment, managed to give the Democrats an opportunity to turn the immigration issue into a pro-Democratic Party issue.
In fact, while “strong leaders” can often initially have some success, in the end they tend to destroy themselves and their nations. Think of Hitler and the Russian offensive, which effectively destroyed Nazi Germany, or Mussolini and the Ethiopian campaign, or any of a number of monarchs. There have, of course, been a few successful strong leaders, such as Batu Khan, riding on superior military technology, but they’re rare and whether it was their judgment or the military superiority they appropriated is a point for discussion.
But a democracy, for all that it can be slow, has the advantage of discussion, a multitude of voices contributing ideas, critiques, their thought and ideas contributing to a better view of the problem. Doubt it? What has performed better than the strong man nations? Democracies. As hard as they can be to compare, I think democracies always stand a better chance.
So the incompetent, the self-impressed, the bombastic, all with claims to a non-existent throne – let them become inhabitants of the vat of failed personalities of history.
