James Davison Hunter, Labros Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture, and Social Theory, dives deep into America’s political crisis. He explores how historical sources of national solidarity have eroded, leading to stark political polarization. The podcast highlights the role of cultural conflicts rather than mere economic issues in this turmoil. Hunter also examines myths of unity, the impact of American exceptionalism on identity, and the limitations of secular humanism in fostering solidarity amid rising nihilism.
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insights INSIGHT
Cultural Roots of Political Crisis
America's political crisis is fundamentally cultural, stemming from evolving values and beliefs.
This cultural divide fuels political polarization and hinders constructive dialogue.
insights INSIGHT
Shift from Class to Culture
The 20th-century political divide focused on economic class, but shifted to cultural issues in its latter third.
This shift was marked by conflicts over cultural authority concerning societal institutions and America's meaning.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Unlikely Alliances
In the late 1980s, Hunter observed conservative religious leaders from different faiths uniting on issues.
This collaboration, historically unprecedented, highlighted a significant shift in cultural alliances.
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Democracy and Solidarity on the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis
Democracy and Solidarity on the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis
On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis
James Davison Hunter
James Davison Hunter's "Democracy and Solidarity" delves into the cultural roots of America's political crisis. Hunter argues that the nation's political polarization stems from a deeper cultural crisis, tracing its origins back to shifts in cultural conflicts during the latter half of the 20th century. The book explores how conflicts over cultural issues, such as abortion and gender roles, have overshadowed traditional class-based political divisions. Hunter analyzes the role of national myths in maintaining social cohesion and examines the challenges of finding new sources of solidarity in a post-Enlightenment world. Ultimately, the book raises crucial questions about the future of liberal democracy in America and beyond.
Liberal democracy in America has always contained contradictions—most notably, a noble but abstract commitment to freedom, justice, and equality that, tragically, has seldom been realized in practice. While these contradictions have caused dissent and even violence, there was always an underlying and evolving solidarity drawn from the cultural resources of America’s “hybrid Enlightenment.”
James Davison Hunter, who introduced the concept of “culture wars” thirty years ago, tells us in Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis(Yale UP, 2024) that those historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved. While a deepening political polarization is the most obvious sign of this, the true problem is not polarization per se but the absence of cultural resources to work through what divides us. The destructive logic that has filled the void only makes bridging our differences more challenging. In the end, all political regimes require some level of unity. If it cannot be generated organically, it will be imposed by force.
Can America’s political crisis be fixed? Can an Enlightenment-era institution—liberal democracy—survive and thrive in a post-Enlightenment world? If, for some, salvaging the older sources of national solidarity is neither possible sociologically, nor desirable politically or ethically, what cultural resources will support liberal democracy in the future?
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