The Democratic Party has put this moment off since the Obama years, but waiting until the last minute to change could turn out to be the perfect opportunity.
It was inevitable that the Democratic Party would have to break from the neoliberal centrist-consensus at some point. They have waited until the absolute last minute to do it and Joe Biden is genuinely clueless about what needs to happen next. If they don’t blow it, the Dems could shock everyone by reuniting behind Kamala Harris and promoting a vision for a better centrism similar to that of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in the United Kingdom.
One of the most widely held public perceptions of Democrats is that they lack backbone and conviction; it’s time to turn that around. The challenge the Party faces is not so much about finding the perfect candidate as about demonstrating they are ready to embrace change in a way that doesn’t alienate the center, but still moves forward enough to be legitimately called progress. The way to look at the situation is not that the political spectrum needs to slide to the left, but that centrism itself needs to be improved. This will be an ongoing effort and, like the Labour Party, the Dems shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep.
A new type of political centrism is being born, one that is both patriotic and proud of capitalism, and simultaneously more progressive and conservative in rebuilding the social contract around working people, national unity, and environmental stewardship. Even the political theory of centrism is in need of improvement—because it hardly exists.
While it may be confusing and seemingly risky in the short term, the thrill of change is what we need now. The public’s attitude toward democracy has grown terribly cynical and defeatist. Liberal democracy is demoralized and unsure of itself on a global scale; citizens everywhere are distrustful of the system. Distrust breeds apathy at the center, and conspiracy theories and fanaticism on the far left and right.
Excitement is still lacking in the UK just as it is lacking for the Democrats in the United States. The public excitement the Democrats need to generate will come when Democrats show they have a vision for change, as well as the guts to pursue it. If he only has the wisdom and humility to recognize it, it is precisely Joe Biden’s role now to take the decisive step, shocking everyone as he launches the Democrats into a new era with Kamala Harris as his chosen successor. Biden needs to choose the nominee for us because the individual chosen doesn’t matter as much as the willingness to embrace change on the part of the Party does. If Harris shatters a glass ceiling along the way, so much the better, but that’s not really the point. The point is for the Dems to boldly embrace change and a willingness to work more with the people than the neoliberal status quo did.
As in France, the left also needs to demonstrate their willingness to cooperate with moderates rather than attempting to hijack the entire system the way MAGAs have in the US—or bickering endlessly over their preferred candidates. The challenge the left in particular faces is to back a candidate with genuine moderate appeal who can beat Trump, as well as to reassure voters the Democratic Party is going to govern in a competent-but-decisive manner.
As the Democrats negotiate this transition, the left needs to keep mostly quiet, in government and on the street. It is time for the political center now to face their own ignorance and hostility to the problems of good government and to some of the values of political liberalism, as well. The more the left protests, the more the center will simply continue to blame the left for democracy’s failure. This time, however, it is the center that needs to come to grips with reality, both in practice and in theory.
Let us hope the hour is not too late.