MAIN IDEA:

The main thesis of this book is that the political regime currently existing in the USA and other Western countries is a combination of two forms of liberalism: social and economic when the “entrenched progress-oriented liberal elite” uses control over nearly all political and economic institutions to suppress non-elite population enforcing compliance with all kinds of “progressive” ideas that counter traditional culture such as new notions of marriage, abortion, equality of results, substitution of anti-black racism with anti-white racism, and so on. In the economic area, it means opening the internal market to China and other hostile powers that bribe the economic elite with cheap labor in manufacturing and high returns on investment in exchange for technology transfer. It also includes the promotion of illegal immigration to obtain cheap labor in services and potential political support for the elite. The author’s conclusion is:” What is needed, in short, is regime change—the peaceful but vigorous overthrow of a corrupt and corrupting liberal ruling class and the creation of a postliberal order in which existing political forms can remain in place, as long as a fundamentally different ethos informs those institutions and the personnel who populate key offices and positions. While superficially the same political order, the replacement of rule by a progressive elite by a regime ordered to the common good through a “mixed constitution” will constitute a genuine regime change.” The author also suggests the method of achieving this result:” This change will not occur simply by a mythic revolutionary uprising of the many against the few. Rather, it will require some number of “class traitors” to act on behalf of the broad working class, articulating the actual motives and effects of widespread elite actions. Even if relatively small, an elite cadre skilled at directing and elevating popular resentments, combined with the political power of the many, can bolster populist political prospects as a working governmental and institutional force. In turn, a new elite can be formed, or the old elite reformed, to adopt a wider understanding of what constitutes their own good—a good that is indivisible and common—and to steer America to a state of flourishing.”

MY TAKE ON IT:

This is one of quite a few recent books that reflect the general understanding that the current political-economical regime is not sustainable and will end pretty soon in some form of massive restructuring. Such restructuring will happen either via internal regime modification or disintegration of society either via internal civil war or defeat inflicted by ideological enemies. These enemies present such alternatives to existing liberal semi-democratic regimes as the Chinese model of the combination of communist political and cultural totalitarianism combined with a semi-capitalist economy or a similar Islamist model in which fundamentalist religion is used instead of communist ideology.

I generally agree with the author’s analysis of the current regime. I also think that we are on the brink of massive regime change that involves political, cultural, and economic restructuring. I do not think it requires lots of help from “the traitors to their class” from the elite. We have a massive overproduction of the elite, that is educated individuals who cannot find a place within society that would be consistent with their expectations. History demonstrates that such individuals do not easily accept disappointment and direct their talents and energy to implement regime change. There is a problem with ideology for these individuals to embrace because neither communism nor religious totalitarianism would be good enough for them. Communism has been discredited over the last 150 years of multiple attempts at its implementation while religion is too much out of synch with the deeply secular redundant elite.  A recent attempt to create some mix of ideology in the form of Wokeism seems to be failing due to its too-obvious idiocy.  It certainly remains to be seen, but I think that this ideological emptiness creates an opportunity for democratic rebirth founded on the new understanding of property as a subject to exclusively individual rights allocated in such a way that everybody would have sufficient property not only for subsistence but for very decent living conditions achievable with effective use of this property. If such property is defined as an unalienable individual share of the common inheritance that could be rented out at market prices, the need to obtain a place in the bureaucratic hierarchy of governments or corporations or some ideological structure would cease to be a necessity, freeing individuals to pursue happiness any way they want to.