Nothing that is happening in America today is unprecedented, or even unusual. A relatively small number of people make the overwhelming majority of significant cultural and economic decisions. Wars are fought, populations shift, the rules of commerce change, all without reference to what the bulk of the population thinks or wants.
This isn’t strange. It’s the story of all human history. Very few civilizations have operated in any other way. People naturally sort themselves into hierarchies. Those who have power defend it from those who don’t. Rulers rule, serfs obey. It’s a familiar system. We know it works, because it has for thousands of years.
The new ingredient, what makes our current moment so unstable, is democracy. Massive inequality can’t be sustained in societies where everyone can vote. In order to survive, democracies must remain egalitarian. When all the spoils seem to flow upward, the majority will revolt in protest. Voters will become vengeful and reckless. They will elect politicians like Donald Trump as a sign of displeasure. If they continue to feel ignored, they will support increasingly radical leaders, who over time will destroy the ruling class, along with everything that made it prosperous. Left untended, democracies self-destruct.
There are two ways to end this cycle. The quickest is to suspend democracy. There are justifications for this. If your voters can’t reach responsible conclusions, you can’t let them vote. You don’t give suffrage to irrational populations, for the same reason you wouldn’t give firearms to toddlers: they’re not ready for the responsibility. Nobody believes Jordan would become a happier country with free and fair elections.
But there’s a cost to ending the vote. You can’t install an autocracy without widespread repression and bloodshed, especially in a secular society. Saudi Arabia doesn’t have revolutions because most Saudis accept that their royal family was installed by God. Nobody in East Germany ever believed that about their government. That’s why the East German regime needed machine guns and a wall to keep its citizens from fleeing. There’s no transitioning from democracy in America without civil war.
The other solution to the crisis is simpler: attend to the population.
Think about what they want.
If they start dying younger or killing themselves in large numbers, figure out why. Care about them.
If the majority is worried about something, listen. Give them back some of their power.
If they have strong feelings about an issue, don’t overrule them, even if (maybe especially if) their views seem reactionary.
You can’t force enlightenment by fiat. In a democracy, you can only persuade.
Go slowly. It isn’t easy to relinquish control to people you have power over.
But try.