“How has the rise of the illiberal left over the past decade contributed to the authoritarian right's resurgence?”
— Framing question, 2025
🧭 Overview
Context: Politics has always been "rough and tumble," but our current political state in the United States is different. I asked myself, “How did we get here?” This article is the result of that reflection.
Thesis: Over the past decade, cycles of overreach and backlash have seen the illiberal left and authoritarian right reinforce each other. This outline analyzes these dynamics and explores a possible liberal path forward.
📋 Table of Contents
- The Rise of the Illiberal Left (2010s–2020s)
- The Reaction from the Right
- Symbiosis: How the Extremes Feed Each Other
- Consequences for Democracy
- Toward a Path Forward
- Conclusion
🌱 The Rise of the Illiberal Left (2010s–2020s)
Cultural consolidation
- University campuses, media, and tech hubs as incubators of progressive norms.
- Social media amplification of call-out culture and purity politics.
Illiberal tendencies
- Speech-restrictive tactics: de-platforming, boycotts, reputational shunning.
- Identity frameworks that sometimes dismiss dissent as harm rather than disagreement.
Achievements alongside excesses
- Raising awareness of systemic racism, gender identity, and equity.
- Alienating moderates through uncompromising rhetoric and ideological litmus tests.
These developments set the stage for a reaction from the right.
⚡ The Reaction from the Right
Authoritarian backlash
- Populist leaders positioned as defenders of tradition and order.
- Pressure on courts, civil service, and independent media.
Weaponized grievance
- Framing as victims of progressive overreach; mobilization via speech, gender, and race conflicts.
- Fundraising and media ecosystems built around outrage cycles.
Mirrored illiberalism
- Adoption of loyalty tests, book restrictions, and punitive culture-war legislation.
This backlash further intensifies polarization and feeds into a feedback loop between the extremes.
🔄 Symbiosis: How the Extremes Feed Each Other
- Feedback loop: Left intolerance fuels right radicalization; right crackdowns validate left suspicion.
- Polarization as strategy: Power accrues to actors who frame politics as existential.
- Missing middle: Moderates and pluralists get squeezed out of agenda-setting.
⚠️ Consequences for Democracy
- Eroded norms: Speech, due process, and deliberation weakened from both ends.
- Institutional fragility: Checks and balances stressed by executive overreach and illiberal tactics.
- Global context: Variations visible in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Key tension: How to address real injustices without normalizing illiberal means that ultimately corrode liberal democracy.
🛤️ Toward a Path Forward
- Re-center liberal values: Free speech, pluralism, tolerance of disagreement.
- Resist the binary: Reject the forced choice of “authoritarianism vs. illiberalism.”
- Renew civic culture: Curiosity, humility, and shared commitments beyond ideology.
🔚 Conclusion
The momentum of the authoritarian right is, in part, a reaction to the excesses of the illiberal left. Both dynamics threaten the liberal center that sustains a free society. Rebuilding a culture of liberalism is the challenge that lies ahead.