Publisher Description
Over the past three decades, citizens of democracies who claim to value freedom, tolerance, and the rule of law have increasingly embraced illiberal politicians and platforms. Democracy is in trouble—but who is really to blame?
In Our Own Worst Enemy, Tom Nichols challenges the current depictions of the rise of illiberal and anti-democratic movements in the United States and elsewhere as the result of the deprivations of globalization or the malign decisions of elites. Rather, he places the blame for the rise of illiberalism on the people themselves. Nichols traces the illiberalism of the twenty-first century to the growth of unchecked narcissism, rising standards of living, global peace, and a resistance to change. Ordinary citizens, laden with grievances, have joined forces with political entrepreneurs who thrive on the creation of rage rather than on the encouragement of civic virtue and democratic cooperation. While it will be difficult, Nichols argues that we need to defend democracy by resurrecting the virtues of altruism, compromise, stoicism, and cooperation—and by recognizing how good we've actually had it in the modern world.
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About Tom Nichols
Tom Nichols is a professor at the US Naval War College and at the Harvard Extension School. He has written widely, including five books, on international relations, Russian affairs, and nuclear weapons. In addition to his academic posts, he has been a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Relations, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In Washington, he served as personal staff for defense and security affairs in the United States Senate to the late Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania.
His works include The Sacred Cause, No Use: Nuclear Weapons and US National Security, Eve of Destruction: The Coming Age of Preventive War, and The Russian Presidency.