Introduction
The main cause of social imbalances in the United States is the value conflict. This is a “seismic shift” in cultural stereotypes under the influence of a combination of new social phenomena. Among them are globalization, changes in the demographic balance, growing economic exclusion, the erosion of the middle class, and the deterioration of the political climate. The gradual destabilization of the West, clearly revealed in 2016, highlighted the deep contradictions between traditional cultural norms and liberal values. They reigned supreme for 70 years and were not challenged by the official mainstream. However, a situation of cultural rift arose, somewhat reminiscent of that which existed in Europe in the mid-1930s. The spontaneous demand for traditional identity in its conservative sense challenged the neoliberal model of social consensus. This affected its key axiological components in the form of a culture of democracy, tolerance, and freedom of expression. It seems apparent that such a state of affairs negatively impacts American society. Below, a discussion on how the current features of US democracy are changing the nation for the worse will be provided.
Social Instability
One of the reasons for the conflict of values is the change in the social balance – the erosion of the center and the growth of polarization affecting geographic, economic, racial, and gender relations. At the same time, the American situation is associated with the crisis of the US-initiated globalization model and the imbalance of the economy, leading to a weakening of the US position in world competition (Dionne). US democracy is indeed unstable: shaken foundations, social atomization, and virulent antipathy constitute a steady trend in social sentiment.
Another problem hindering the full-scale implementation of the state strategy to combat social instability remains the American system of income distribution in the country. As a result of the creation in the United States of “a society of owners”, the process of redistribution of income began to occur from the bottom up and not from the top down. As a result of the creation of the most favored nation treatment of the industrial and financial oligarchy in the United States in 2013, there was an unprecedented redistribution of income and wealth in favor of the elite (Dionne). Moreover, despite the fact that the US is still considered a country of great economic opportunity, only half of the total number of poor Americans managed to get under the distribution of the minimum amount of income for a twenty-year period.
Demographic Issues
Demographic disproportions are another factor in social division. The end of multiculturalism in the US raises problems similar to those faced by Western Europe during the migrant crisis, providing arguments on the conservative side of the political spectrum. The share of Asians, Africans, and Hispanics in the US is rapidly approaching a full third (Warren 20). As a result, the country has a Lower Third World with its own culture. Waves of migrants from Latin American slums are flooding across the open borders in the southern United States.
The worst situation in this vein is connected with the residents of the southern and western regions, where there is an increased concentration of poverty. It should be noted that the most disadvantaged states are those with a large number of immigrants employed in the lowest-paid jobs in the service sector. Most immigrants come to the US from Mexico, post-Soviet countries, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Ignorance of the English language and unwillingness to adapt their religious, national, and cultural traditions to the American way of life lead to an unfavorable cultural and demographic situation (Cohn). These people live in isolation and are unable to fully integrate into the public life of the United States. Moreover, The US leads the developed world in terms of teenage pregnancies, seven times that of France. And all this is happening in a situation where a quarter of children in America live with only one parent – the highest rate among developed countries.
Multiculturalism Problem
Unsuccessful attempts to ensure multicultural harmony show that when it comes to such dissimilar cultures, it is hardly possible. This conflict also has other dimensions – confessional (Catholics and Protestants), linguistic (Spanish and English), and political (attitude towards democracy and law) (Plaut et al. 203). Its political expression was the split between right and left political wings over immigration. Opponents of liberal immigration policy see it as a direct cause of the degradation of traditional values and the fall in respect for the law.
The desire to form multiculturalism in the United States, based on the dominance of the European principle, is characterized by the following features. The first is the exclusion of one or another racial group from the general culture. The second is the legalization of Anglo-Saxon nationalism that has been inherent to the US system since the 20th century. Third, it is a cultural unification in the process of acculturation, leading to the creation of a monotonous “colorlessness” of a single American culture (Plaut et al. 203) In this context, today’s intensification of democratic multicultural processes leads to adverse effects on society.
Political Fluctuations
Here, it should also be noted that there are obvious symptoms of the collapse of the political center and the destabilization of the two-party system. In this context, the disputes that arose in the wake of Trump’s rise between supporters of Democrats and Republicans were convinced of the underrepresentation of their position (Wallace and Wallace 93). The Bill of Rights is considered an awkward compromise because it requires interaction with opponents whose views seem unacceptable. However, such an approach is unacceptable in terms of democracy’s essence (Dahl and Shapiro 60). The democratic mainstream, under the influence of the left, however, rejects such an attitude based on the general validity of their own views. Its representatives believe that since history is “on their side”, they have the right not to make concessions, seeking the selective application of legal values and norms.
Further, it should be noted the change in the rhetoric and style of the political process. It can be said that politics in the United States has now turned into a civil war carried out by other methods. The political conflict took the form of a battle aimed, if not at the physical, at least at the metaphorical destruction of the opponent (Cohn). Any harm inflicted on the opposing side in the name of carrying out one’s own mission is considered acceptable, even encouraged. In such a world, all political differences begin to look like a zero-sum game in which mutually acceptable solutions are impossible. It can be stated that everything comes down to the victory of one of the parties.
It should also be recognized that the current US migration policy is perceived very ambiguously. The experience of building a wall separating Mexico and the United States brings the country back to the times when the “protective” principle of implementing migration policy was actively used (Cohn). Suffice it to recall the Berlin Wall, which today is perceived as a vestige of one of the most problematic periods in the history of civilization. On this basis, there are many political debates destabilizing the sequence of the political process in the United States.
Democracy and Imperialism
American democracy, which until recently was regarded as a model, is today in a state of unstable equilibrium, often referred to as imperial overheating. Its causes are seen in the clash of two development strategies – democratic and imperial. According to American historiography, the United States has never been a military state, and its founder George Washington was opposed to a standing army and irremovable one-man power.
However, in the second half of the twentieth century, the situation in the US changed radically. Since Dwight Eisenhower, the country has abandoned half of Washington’s legacy. A powerful bureaucratic apparatus was created, the army became the largest component of the state machine, and the president concentrated enormous power in his hands. The resulting phenomenon of over-concentration of presidential powers referred to as the “Imperial Presidency” (Herr), gave rise to the aforementioned conflict between the two strategies in American politics.
Conclusion
The totality of the factors listed above allows one to state the growth of the destructive dynamics of public consciousness. The traditional apathy of American society, bordering on conformism, is being replaced by ideological polarization. Moreover, the conflicts that split society affect the basic values of American democracy, leading to destabilization and strengthening of authoritarian tendencies. The presented dimensions of issues resulting from the modern state of democracy show that the US government is to find ways to adapt the current political process to the realities. Such a state of affairs may sooner or later disrupt societal relations within the country and ruin the economy.
Works Cited
Cohn, Nate. “Growing Threat to American Democracy: Us vs. Them.” The New York Times, 2021.
Dahl, Robert and Ian Shapiro. On Democracy (2nd Ed.). Yale University Press, 2015.
Dionne, E.J. “The Stimulus Should Focus on Americans Who Need the Most Help.” The Washington Post, 2022.
Herr, Lukas. “Rolling Back the Imperial Presidency? Joe Biden and the Future of U.S. War Powers.” E-International Relations, 2020.
Plaut, Victoria C., et al. “Do Color Blindness and Multiculturalism Remedy or Foster Discrimination and Racism?” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 27, no. 3, 2018, pp. 200–206.
Wallace, Debora and Rodrick Wallace. Politics, Hierarchy, and Public Health Voting Patterns in the 2016 US Presidential Election. Routledge, 2019.
Warren, Robert. “US Undocumented Population Continued to Fall from 2016 to 2017 and Visa Overstays Significantly Exceeded Illegal Crossings for the Seventh Consecutive Year.” Journal on Migration and Human Security, vol. 7, no. 1, 2019, pp. 19–22.