Doing sociology and philosophy in real time by looking at developments in contemporary Western politics and culture, from a Moral Libertarian perspective. My mission is to stop the cultural systemist left and the authoritarian right from destroying the West's Enlightenment traditions.
Is There A Communitarian Revival Under Way? | TaraElla News
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During the past year, the campaigns of 2020 candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard have given me a lot of hope for the future of humanity, where no such hope had existed before. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. Now, you may ask, while it may be a good idea to start having a UBI and to end all the terrible wars, there are still many other issues that deserve our attention, right? True. But it's also true that Yang and Gabbard, even with their respective signature policies, are far from single-issue candidates. Instead, both have a platform and a message that add up to much more than just a bunch of policies.
Let's start with Andrew Yang's UBI. He isn't suggesting that the government give out free money because it sounds good. Rather, his policy is based in care for the social fabric. Yang is worried that jobs are being automated away, and people are struggling economically. As a result, families are under pressure, birth rates are falling, and there's an opioid crisis. The UBI is a solution that will help fix at least the material side of this problem, which will go a long way towards fixing things. Other parts of the Yang platform, for example providing free marriage counselling, also aim to help repair the social fabric and create stronger families and communities.
Similarly, Tulsi Gabbard is clearly interested in building strong communities. She focuses on what's best for everyone, and has made a point of avoiding divisive ideological labels throughout her campaign. She talks to people on both the left and the right of the economic spectrum, and has been on good terms with people across the political spectrum. She explains her policies based on how they could benefit people and communities, rather than by any sort of divisive angle. In fact, she has repeatedly refused to answer deliberately divisive questions from the media, including on the debate stage. I really respect this refusal to give in to the media's attempt to divide people.
And last but not least, both Yang and Gabbard have a broad tent approach when it comes to building support. There should be no Hillary-style divisive declarations that some people are 'deplorables'. While this cycle no candidate has been as bad as Hillary as yet, elements of her divisive approach can be seen in several candidates, unfortunately. With the Yang and Gabbard approach, everyone is welcome, regardless of identity or political philosophy, as it should be, because community building should be an inclusive exercise.
It's been quite a while since politicians cared about families, communities and the social fabric. I'm very happy to see Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard bring that back. Perhaps in 2020, we can make a new start on that front. Like how Bernie brought issues of economic justice to the forefront in 2016, perhaps next year can be the start of a politics for strong families and communities.
