1-Sentence-Summary: The Authoritarian Moment presents the America of today, where authoritarian powers seem to be taking over while putting the democracy at risk, and pleas to protect the freedom and rights that the founding fathers of democracy built centuries ago.
Read in: 4 minutes
Favorite quote from the author:
Although concepts like freedom of speech, safety, human rights, and many other democratic beliefs come naturally to us today, freedom is a virtue that we didn’t always inherit. Our ancestors had to fight deeply for it, a fact that changed the world for the better. However, it seems that there is a threat against democracy again.
Today’s political parties and beliefs tend to be all in favor of an increasingly prominent form of authoritarianism. In theory, everyone is equal in the face of the law. In fact, big companies often have unbelievable privileges, and so do important public personas.
Ideologies that the democratic party favors are prevailing. As for everyone else? They’re wrong. The Authoritarian Moment by Ben Shapiro delves into this alarming dilemma and tries to make sense of the democracy left in the USA.
Here are my three favorite lessons from the book:
- Racial diversity became a tool for more exclusion and the prohibition of free speech.
- Face-to-face with politics, not even science can stay safe and neutral.
- To preserve democracy, we must protect the freedom of speech at all costs.
Now, let’s learn some more about the authoritarian left doctrine by exploring these lessons in detail!
Lesson 1: The imbalance regarding race exclusion became a propeller for authoritarian inclinations
We no longer know The United States of the 21st century for the freedom of speech and the American dream that once built the country. Instead, left political parties pushed an agenda that shaped a new identity for Americans: offensive citizens with racial biases. Or at least that’s how it is for whoever doesn’t obey.
In today’s world, saying certain words and stating even neutral opinions can get you canceled. Masses of people are willing to put huge corporations into the ground if they don’t get political and choose to defend certain groups of people. However, instead of inclusion, there’s more division than ever.
Instead of corporations pursuing profits, they now must follow political trends if they don’t want to get canceled. If someone dares to even stay neutral, let alone ride against the wave, they become prone to losing their jobs and destroying their careers.
The USA that once promoted freedom of speech is now afraid to speak up. Moreover, the culture that once promoted plurality in opinions has become more biased than ever. The result? A tunnel-vision-oriented nation that is heading toward an authoritarian regime.
Lesson 2: Far-left ideologies are prone to destroying one of the pylons of the developed world: science
Let’s go back in time – more exactly, 2020. Everybody remembers this year with regret and sadness due to the pandemic. However, faced with all the curfews, restrictions, WHO regulations, and a deadly virus on top of all, politics still found a way to infiltrate the society.
The government prohibited gatherings, and science was backing it up. However, after the George Floyd incident, left parties were gaslighting the masses to defend justice, and racial equality, and do away with abusive cops. The problem? The protests were happening in public spaces with millions of people involved.
Suddenly, science fell behind the political agenda. The pandemic no longer counted in the face of the Black Lives Matter protest. However, such occurrences happen all the time in the “democratic” era. For example, scientists were fired for saying that men are naturally taller than women on average.
During the BLM protest, big companies fired employees who expressed that all lives matter. Such examples occur on social media also, where Big Tech frequently bans users or deletes posts that express different ideas than the liberal party.
Lesson 3: Freedom of speech is the pylon of all democracies
To speak freely, without the fear of oppression, and without holding back any thoughts are the foundation of democracy. Any ideology that suppresses this idea and imposes its agenda, whether dressed in liberal and democratic covers, is authoritarian.
The liberal philosophy is built on the premise that all opinions are to be listened to, and then you have the right to agree or disagree. Still, there are many examples from today’s world when higher powers disregard opposing opinions. And the people presenting contradicting points of view get buried in consequences.
Democracy encourages diversity in opinions and multiculturalism. These concepts are partially responsible for the development of society. Without more perspectives, how can we get the best of our community?
For this reason, defending our rights to freedom of expression, publicly stating opinions, freedom of thinking, and all the other liberal rights we have is crucial. If we defend these ideas in the face of both left and right-wing parties, we defend democracy.
The founding fathers of the USA and other major movement leaders had to stand up for their rights too, and because they did so, our society today is much more developed, and we grew up freely. Nowadays, it seems that history repeats itself and we must stand up for our rights once again.
The Authoritarian Moment Review
The Authoritarian Moment talks about the importance of defending democracy and more specifically, our right to express different points of view freely. In today’s world, it seems that any opinion that is not linked to the far-left ideology is considered wrong and the person must suffer the consequences of opposing the ideology. However, in a democratic state, this is unacceptable, and so the book highlights what is wrong with today’s system and how we can stand up and face it with bravery.
Who would I recommend The Authoritarian Moment summary to?
The 35-year-old person interested in the future of the USA and the democratic state, the 45-year-old diplomat who wants to deepen their knowledge about the current political state of the USA, or the 40-year-old person passionate about the evolution of the world, political ideologies, and history.
Last Updated on October 6, 2022
