Peter Bloom on the Unmasking of the “Democratic Charade”

In the past few months I've come to appreciate the political perspective of Peter Bloom, a Professor of Management at the University of Essex in the U.K.

Bloom’s books include Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Globalization (2016, with a second edition released this year), CEO Society: The Corporate Takeover of Everyday Life (2018), and Guerrilla Democracy: Mobile Power and Revolution in the 21st Century (2021).

Bloom regularly contributes to Common Dreams, a reader-supported independent news outlet. His most recent article, “Far-Right Endorsements Unmask Democratic Charade,” provides an excellent overview and analysis of the current state of U.S. politics. Following (with added links) is an excerpt.

In recent months, a curious phenomenon has emerged in American politics – the endorsement of Democratic candidates by figures traditionally associated with the Republican far right. Most notably, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney made headlines by throwing their support behind Kamala Harris’ presidential bid. This unexpected alliance has been framed by centrist media outlets as a heartening example of cross-party unity in the face of former President Donald Trump’s purported threat to democracy. However, a more critical examination reveals that these endorsements are less a triumph of democratic values and more a damning indictment of the current political status quo.

Defenders of this unlikely alliance argue that it represents a necessary “popular front” against the authoritarian threat posed by Trump and his supporters. They contend that in times of crisis, we must set aside ideological differences and unite to preserve the foundations of our democracy. But this framing relies on a fundamentally flawed premise—that the system these centrists and right-wingers are rallying to protect is itself truly democratic.

The political establishment that the Cheneys and their Democratic allies seek to preserve is one that perpetuates endless wars and military interventions across the globe, from Iraq to Libya to the ongoing support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. It allows for and exacerbates grotesque levels of economic inequality, with wealth increasingly concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite. This system routinely supports and arms authoritarian regimes when it aligns with U.S. corporate interests, from Saudi Arabia to Thailand. It oversees a mass incarceration system that disproportionately targets communities of color and fails to take meaningful action on existential threats like climate change due to the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists.

This is the system that the so-called “popular front” is mobilizing to defend. Not a beacon of democracy, but a corrupt oligarchy that masquerades as one. The fight against Trump’s authoritarianism, while certainly necessary, is being used as cover to shore up support for a status quo that is itself profoundly anti-democratic in its functioning.

The embrace of figures like the Cheneys also reveals a deeply troubling moral relativism at the heart of the Democratic establishment. Dick Cheney, after all, was one of the primary architects of the Iraq War – a conflict built on lies that resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and destabilized an entire region. He has been an unapologetic defender of torture and a champion of unchecked executive power.

That Democrats would welcome such a figure into their tent speaks volumes about their own moral compass and political priorities. It suggests that in their calculus, the taint of association with war criminals and corporate oligarchs is outweighed by the potential electoral benefits. This is not principled politics – it is cynical maneuvering that betrays any claim to real progressive values.

Central to understanding this phenomenon is recognizing the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of political centrism as it exists in the United States today. Centrists pride themselves on their supposed pragmatism and willingness to reach across the aisle. But in practice, this “pragmatism” almost always skews rightward, dragging the entire political spectrum in a more conservative direction.

We see this in the way that ideas once considered radical right-wing positions have become normalized as “centrist” compromises. We see it in the adoption of Republican framing on issues like crime, fracking, welfare, and national security. And we see it now in the lionization of figures like Dick Cheney as principled defenders of democracy, memory-holing their long records of supporting deeply anti-democratic policies.

The Democratic Party’s willingness to embrace far-right endorsements puts the lie to their posturing as champions of the working class and foes of elite power. Their rhetoric may occasionally nod to populist themes, but their actions reveal a party that is fundamentally comfortable with the current distribution of power and wealth in society. By welcoming figures like the Cheneys into their coalition, Democrats are sending a clear message – they are not opposed to elites per se, only to those particular elites who threaten their own place in the established order.

This elite consensus is evident in the policy priorities of Democratic administrations. Whether under former President Barack Obama or current President Joe Biden, we see a consistent pattern of bailing out banks and major corporations while offering only crumbs to struggling workers. We see promises of a new direction in foreign policy coupled with a continuation of the same interventionist approach.

The result is a democracy where the differences between the two parties, while real, are far narrower than their rhetoric would suggest. Both ultimately serve the interests of corporate power and the military-industrial complex, merely disagreeing on the details of implementation. This narrowing of the political spectrum has profound consequences for American democracy, effectively disenfranchising millions of citizens whose views and interests are not represented by either major party.

. . . There is a need for a more forceful and unapologetic progressive movement within electoral politics. This movement must be willing to challenge the Democratic establishment, to reject compromises that betray core values, and to articulate a vision of change that goes beyond incremental reforms. It must be willing to call out the hypocrisy of embracing far-right figures in the name of “unity” while marginalizing progressive voices. Ultimately, the spectacle of Democrats embracing far-right endorsements should serve not as cause for despair, but as a clarion call for genuine, transformative change. It exposes the hollowness at the core of centrist politics and underscores the need for a political movement that truly represents the interests of the many rather than the elite few.

To read Peter Bloom's article, “Far-Right Endorsements Unmask Democratic Charade,” in its entirety, click here.


Related Off-site Links:
Nostalgia Reigns at the Trump-Harris Presidential Debate – Peter Bloom (Common Dreams, September 11, 2024).
Glenn Greenwald: Democrats Are the Ultimate Establishment Party – Emily Jashinsky (UnHerd, September 10, 2024).
The Rising Democratic Threat of “Hopeful Militarism” – Peter Bloom (Common Dreams, August 26, 2024).
Why the Left Must Resist Unconditionally Backing Harris – Peter Bloom (Common Dreams, August 4, 2024).
JD Vance, Kamala Harris, and the Illusion of Inclusion – Peter Bloom (Common Dreams, July 27, 2024).
From Fear to Freedom: A New Vision for Progressive Solidarity in Israel-Palestine – Peter Bloom and Camila Vergara (Common Dreams, November 8, 2023).

UPDATE: Kamala Harris Is a Liz Cheney Democrat, Liz Cheney Is a Kamala Harris Republican – Kit Cabello (Hard Lens Media, October 5, 2024).

For more of Peter Bloom at The Wild Reed, see:
• Progressive Perspectives On an American Coronation
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2019 U.K. Election
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2020 U.S. Election Results
• Progressive Perspectives on Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton (2016)

See also the related Wild Reed posts:
• Elise Labott on How Third Parties Can Revitalize Democracy
• “Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
• The “Green Smoothie” Option