Noah Berlatsky and Ilana Gershon write:

Since Donald Trump’s election victory, the Democratic Party and numerous pundits have been arguing about why Kamala Harris lost. Some have argued that Harris failed to emphasize progressive economic policies. Others have insisted that she should have more explicitly disavowed the left. Perhaps most convincingly, writers like Financial Times columnist and data reporter John Burn-Murdoch have noted that this has been an unfavorable time for incumbents globally, from the United Kingdom to Japan, as an electorate angry with the economic dislocations of recent years has rushed to toss out sitting governments that they blame for inflation and other ills.

Whatever the direct cause of Trump’s victory, though, one thing is clear: Millions of people in the United States see Trump as a reasonable choice for president. This is disturbing, since Trump has repeatedly and forcefully attacked democracy and regularly presents himself as an authoritarian strongman. Why aren’t voters taking the fact that they just actively chose to live under an authoritarian regime more seriously?

Maybe it is because, in the places where they spend 40 or more hours a week, they already are.

Many American workplaces are hierarchical. Decision-making is opaque. Mechanisms of accountability are either nonexistent or weak and deceptive. Yet, at the same time, many workers are enthusiastically told how democratic their workplaces are, much to their frustration. Workplace culture in the U.S. teaches employees that arbitrary rule is normal and that democracy is a deception and a lie. In that context, Trump can seem like an acceptable alternative to the status quo. [Continue reading…]