Not long ago in Canadian schools the French Revolution was a major component of the social studies curriculum. It is the story of a super-rich leader and the super-rich around him getting toppled by the new, growing middle class. Interconnected political clubs spring up across the country, arguably forming the first political party. Things get more radical. A military leader steps in and takes over for a while, almost takes over all of Europe, then finally loses in Russia. Leaders make a new map of Europe, there is a reactionary phase, then things move forward less radically. There is a lot of history there that has repeated itself since.
There is no shortage of people saying it is repeating itself now in France with the protests against Emmanuel Macron. Like then, the current protests are by people who feel pushed to the brink financially and see the leader as rich and working for the rich. Back then it was the cost of bread; now it is the cost of gasoline. Like then, it didn’t take long for these protests to change into something else. Like then, it is hard to say exactly what it has changed into, because there are many factions at play.
A short distance away there is another disgruntled public reeking havoc on the political leadership. In Britain, Brexit is a long running saga, but the chips are starting to fall. Those chips may be political parties. Both of the big traditional parties, the Conservative and the Labour parties, are at risk of bursting from internal divisions all stemming from a disgruntled public pushing the only reset button they were shown: voting yes in the Brexit referendum.
That sounds a bit like the election of Donald Trump. He and Bernie Sanders were the reset buttons the public could put their fingers on in the last U.S. presidential cycle, and a great many did.
Three G7 countries. Three of the oldest and most established democracies in the world. Three countries in political turmoil. What is going on? Like the French Revolution, it is about the middle class wanting more and trying to go out and get it.
A Frustrated Public Looks for New Paths
Yes, there are policy fixes to some of this disillusionment. For example countries with less inequality are less prone to marches in the streets against inequality. That doesn’t keep them from marching in the streets, though, protesting taxes, as France demonstrates.
Yes, there are perhaps some sad truths that can’t be fixed: perhaps the prosperity the middle classes are fighting to maintain was achieved on the back of the poor and environmental carelessness. Perhaps the middle classes need to deal with less prosperity, at least for the time being.
No, that is not the end of the story. Whether or not the middle class party is over, the party is over for the political party.
Protests in France aren’t driven by political opposition parties. It is people in the streets. Donald Trump was an outsider to the Republican Party who forced his way in against the objections of the party establishment. In England, the Conservative and Labour parties struggle to represent cohesive segments of the population. Instead of working to have the parties represent them, the British public jumped at the only chance they were given to go over their heads and make change happen. In France not long ago President Macron was the outsider carried to victory by a public looking for hope.
The Medium is the Message
There are many people who are members of political parties, and some of those are very active members. Yet the vast majority of the population remains outside political parties. In fact, party membership in Europe is down around 40% since 1980.1 Less than 5% of the population is a member of a party.
The entire world is in a new era of communication. Social media participation rates in the US are close to 70%.2 People are engaging, and they are sometimes engaging with each other regarding political matters. They just mostly aren’t engaging with political parties. Therein lies the problem and the solution.
Democracies need new ways to engage citizens. Citizens expect it. Most people don’t want to be tied to partisan political parties to do it. Direct democracy has its dangers too, as Brexit has shown. It can also lead to the tyranny of the majority.
Governments must engage citizens in ways citizens want to be engaged. This means using tools less blunt than simply elections and plebiscites. Some tools exist, such as social media engagement, survey forums and citizen assemblies, but bold new ways for democracy to be enacted are also needed.
France, Britain and the U.S. are already suffering the consequences. Of course, Canada is one of the oldest democracies in the world, is a G7 country, European and American troubles never reach Canada, and politicians always learn from history.
References
1. The Economist, 2010; The London School of Economics, 2013.