President Obama fears a loss of democracy in the US. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris echo similar warnings. Bernie Sanders calls us to unite against rising authoritarianism in a popular front. Cornel West speaks of the danger of fascism looming over the country. We hear similar concerns from Europe and Latin America. Liberal democracies are in crisis around the world. Why is this happening and what can we do about it?
Bill Fletcher, Jr., executive editor of globalafricanworker.com and author of Solidarity Divided interviews Walter Baier, the coordinator of the network "Transform Europe," Sangeeta Kamat, author of Development Hegemony: NGOs and the State in India, and professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Tarso Ramos of Political Research Associates. They probe such questions as “What is the difference between authoritarianism and neo-fascism?” “What has led to the loss of legitimacy of liberal democracy?” “Why do democratic governments seem to be less able to govern effectively?” “How is the rising concentration of wealth leading to increasingly authoritarian political power?” “How has neoliberalism destabilized social structures, resulting in multiple crises of migration, climate and economic?” “How can progressive social movements respond?” “Why is there such a toxic combination of racism and nationalism in the extreme Right?” “How can the Left counter the Right’s appeals to individual choice and an amorphous "freedom?" and “Is the Left stuck on an outdated paradigm?”