Excerpt from the book “Age of Revolutions” by Fareed Zakaria

In his new book, “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present”, journalist and CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria dives into the history of revolutionary changes and their ramifications for current ideological divisions affecting today’s political discourse. He explores how societies both resist and embrace changes throughout time, analysing patterns and factors that shape reforms and resistance to them. According to Zakaria, the nature of politics in its essence – the struggle for power and its management – has remained unchanged over millennia, whether it’s in ancient Greece or Rome or the contemporary era.

Modern politics across the globe, according to the author, bears an ideological shape which people from the past would find unrecognizable. Zakaria explains that it has been characterized as a contest between the Left, favoring a stronger state with more economic regulation and redistribution, and the Right, advocating a freer market with less government intervention. For a long time, this left-right divide dominated the global political landscape, defining public debates, elections, policies, and in some instances leading to violence and revolution. However, today, this once-critical ideological division appears to be breaking down.

Zakaria uses the example of President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to illustrate his point about the breakdown of traditional political ideologies. Trump, he argues, stood contrary to most elements that the Republican Party had traditionally endorsed under the “Reagan formula”. This formula, established by the highly popular President Ronald Reagan, included limited government, low taxes, cuts to government spending, a well-funded military, and promotion of democracy abroad. While Trump did hold some of these ideologies – low taxes and limitations on abortion – the majority of his campaign focused on a substantially different agenda.

Trump’s campaign focused on nationalism, protectionism, and isolationism, breaking away from core tenets of Republican economic orthodoxy. Notably, he promised to maintain social security and Medicare benefits, contradicting decades of Republican fiscal conservatism. Furthermore, he criticized George W. Bush’s military interventions and the idea of spreading democracy globally. Despite his divergence from these longstanding Republican principles, Trump continued to maintain his position as a right-wing figure.

According to Zakaria, Trump is not an outlier but represents part of a global pattern where traditional right-wing ideology is changing. He argues that the political sphere is experiencing a shift where conventional political affiliations no longer necessarily imply specific ideological standpoints. The left-right divide is becoming more difficult to distinguish, signaling a potential transformation in future political structures and debates. Zakaria’s insightful analysis offers a fresh perspective on understanding the complexities of political ideologies in the 21st century.