Jake Dunagan: Politics and Governance

Plutopia News Network

This time on the Plutopia Podcast, Jake Dunagan joins us as we explore the future of governance and democracy. This podcast is from the Plutopia Live webcast on 2/22/2024.

Jake is Director of the Governance Futures Lab at the Institute for the Future. More information here: https://www.iftf.org/people/jake-dunagan/

Jake Dunagan:

As much as it is anathema to my values, the MAGA wing has shaped the conversation, and they are dominating the conversation, and they are moving the window over. And so that is, again, in a neutral sense, leadership.

And so what’s the countervailing to that, rather than just trying to hold on to the last bits of maybe majority rule? You know, maybe if you win elections, it just feels very desperate on the left to try to hold on against this juggernaut of focus. It’s not the majority, but it is a focused, mission-driven group of people that have no end point other than seizing absolute control over the system.

And so what do you do? It’s the greatest dilemma that we’ve faced, I think, in our lifetimes for sure, is what do you do when your opponent does not play by the rules, and you’re trying to hold on to legitimacy in the other group? The other side is not. I mean, I think that’s our democracy death spiral at this point.

Points to consider:

• The conversation about the future of democracy is dominated by the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. This group is focused on seizing power and does not care about the traditional norms of democracy.
• The dominance of the MAGA wing is due in part to the fact that they have a clear vision for the future, while the left is focused on holding onto the status quo.
• The left needs to develop a compelling vision for the future of democracy that is better than the one offered by the MAGA wing. This vision should include things like protecting individual rights and freedoms, and ensuring that everyone has a fair shot at success.
• The left needs to be more strategic in its thinking. This means being willing to play hardball and fight for what it believes in.
• The Republican Party has been taken over by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and there is no longer any room for dissent within the party.
• The only way to stop the MAGA wing is to push back against them in a way that is uncomfortable and disruptive. This may require people to step outside of their comfort zones and take risks.