Loneliness in America is a Foreign Policy Issue
By Ambassador David L. Carden
Americans are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Some 50 percent of us feel alone or left out most of the time. 27 percent say they never, or rarely, feel people understand them. The feeling of loneliness is prevalent among all age groups and demographics. It’s been recognized as a major risk to physical and mental health. But less recognized is one of its other correlates, the feeling of ‘not mattering’. Such ‘anti-mattering,’ as it sometimes is called, leads people to believe they cannot control outcomes in their own lives and beyond. Loneliness and anti-mattering are opening America to the possibility of authoritarian rule, and threatening its leadership in the world.
The relationship of loneliness and ‘anti-mattering’ to politics and foreign policy was understood by Hannah Arendt. In her seminal work, The Origins of Totalitarianism, she wrote that loneliness, which she believed once was only “a borderline experience,” became “an everyday experience of the ever-growing masses” in the twentieth century. The result, Arendt argued, is that many people do not feel they belong to the world. She made the case that loneliness opens people to “totalitarian domination” as they seek connection. Indeed, she thought loneliness is the essence of totalitarianism, and is a precondition of its existence.
Loneliness already is putting many Americans on a course to accept authoritarian rule. In large part this is because of another aspect of Arendt’s analysis, the role played by blurring fact and fiction in opening the door to dictators. Arendt believed this blurring causes people to become disoriented because their usual tools for navigating the world become ineffective. Reason, values, and norms cease to be of use. She believed blurring the distinction between truth and falsehood causes the loneliness upon which authoritarians depend because people look to them for a sense of belonging and to help them make sense of the world. As Yale Professor Timothy Snyder recently wrote in his book, Tyranny, “[y]ou submit to tyranny when you renounce the difference between what you want to hear and what is actually the case….Post-truth is pre-fascism.” By abandoning facts, he warns, we abandon freedom. It’s what fascists want us to do. Indeed, as Arendt argued, it’s what they need us to do.
Arendt’s analysis can help us understand what is happening in American politics, including the role of lying and the appeal many find in strongmen. It also makes clear how far we have come since Ronald Reagan’s 1980 acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, in which he said: “I ask you not simply to ‘Trust me,’ but to trust your values—our values—and to hold me responsible for living up to them.” In contrast, Trump, in his 2016 acceptance speech, boasted “nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it." Trump’s speech was designed to make people lonely by causing them to feel that they do not matter. It was intended to disempower them by making them feel isolated. As former Secretary of Defense General James Mattis said, Trump “does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try.” There is no reason to believe his post-assassination claim that Americans need to unite is real. Trump understands his supporters do not find community in uniting with their fellow Americans, but in “uniting” with him.
The blurring of the divide between fact and fiction, and the loneliness it engenders, are central tenets of fascism, one of the most recognizable forms of totalitarianism. It should be no surprise, then, that an “unbreakable plurality of the GOP explicitly wants fascism.” Another 29 percent are fine with fascism as long as it doesn’t affect them personally. Thus, Trump’s claims that he alone can fix things, and the fact he allegedly kept a copy of Hitler’s speeches on his bedside table, are comforting to many of his followers. Lamentably, there’s brain science to support Trump’s approach. Research has shown lonely people are more likely to blur the distinction between real and fictional characters, which is exactly what leaders like Trump want. He doesn’t want to be seen for who he is, but who his followers want him to be.
For several reasons, the loneliness upon which totalitarianism depends also threatens to undermine U.S. leadership in the world. First, loneliness and the struggle to belong makes it less likely for people to care about and connect with those they don’t know, which includes those of other cultures and those who live far away. Said another way, empathy, and the search for common ground and connection, is directly related to geographic proximity, and to intangibles such as shared values, culture and history.
Second, as previously observed, totalitarian regimes aren’t focused on the body politic. The health and well-being of people and their communities don’t matter, only their fealty to the leader. Promises may be made by autocrats to garner support, but there is no need to fulfill them because they are irrelevant to the central purpose of the regime. As a result, walls aren’t built; healthcare programs are not adopted; infrastructure isn’t built; and manufacturing jobs aren’t created.
Third, autocrats have little or no interest in supporting democracies around the world, which represent challenges to the legitimacy of their rule. For example, Trump reportedly has said he will not support Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion. Trump’s position gives Putin reason to continue his war of aggression in the hope Trump will win the Presidential election this fall. It also is giving America’s long-standing military and economic partners, many of which have reason to fear Russian aggression, cause for concern, undermining U.S. leadership.
Fourth, cross border challenges such as climate change, human migration, pandemic preparedness and response, and shortages in food, water, and natural resources, will require international cooperation to address. Multilateral mechanisms will be needed. But autocrats see multilateral solutions as requiring them to cede authority, something which they will not do. Trump’s failure to support multilateral organizations during his Administration is an example of this truth.
It's increasingly apparent America’s epidemic of loneliness will need to be addressed if the American people are to save their democracy and maintain U.S. leadership in the world. It won’t be easy. Four fifths of all Americans live in cities, a percentage that is increasing. Moreover, our historic institutions, including churches and community business groups, aren’t as strong as they once were. An analysis of the 2020 Presidential election by the conservative Cato Institute demonstrates the impact this can have. It concluded Trump was viewed more positively among evangelicals who weren’t regular church goers, suggesting church communities are an antidote to the loneliness underlying fascism. But of even greater concern, there are an increasing number of politicians who want us to be lonely, and are acting to make it so.
They’re well organized. In addition to the lies they tell to cover-up their shortcomings and sow discord, they’ve created a fictitious counter narrative designed to achieve their objectives. Thus, they attack programs and education designed to teach Americans about the contributions made by Americans who they believe do not support them; disparage initiatives that are focused on social and racial justice by characterizing them as ‘woke’; and try to make the case that it’s the Democratic Party’s focus on ‘identity politics’ and support for ‘Big Government’ that are the real threats to American democracy. They have important allies in the billionaire class and on the Supreme Court. Arendt told us why these alliances are necessary when she wrote: “totalitarianism is what happens when the elite gets together with the mob.” She also warned against ‘anti-system’ leaders, such as non-career politicians, arguing traditional political parties and their candidates encourage participation and prevent loneliness.
What can be done to make more Americans feel less lonely, more connected, and thus better able to reject authoritarianism? Here are some ideas:
Most importantly, the challenge loneliness represents to the idea of America and its world leadership, needs to become part of the regular discourse in the society;
More Americans need to feel in control of their personal lives, which requires that they be better able to care for themselves and their families. For this reason, income inequality must be addressed through tax policy, mandatory minimum and hourly wages, and protections against the potential ravages of artificial intelligence;
Greater investment is required in programs that provide opportunities for disparate communities to interact and connect. This includes investments in traditional venues such as schools, museums, theaters. But new venues should be created, including curated conversations on television, radio, and on the internet, to bring together those looking for information that is more reliable than what can be found elsewhere;
We need to identify, educate and empower thought leaders and observers who can sort through what is real and what is not, and help make them alternative resources for information for those prepared to look for guidance;
We should fund universities that are prepared to ‘invert themselves’ by connecting with and assisting the communities and regions where they’re located, thus providing much needed informational, educational, economic, cultural, and other resources for their revitalization and long-term wellbeing;
There needs to be a rebirth of volunteerism in America. Businesses, schools, churches and other entities and institutions need to provide incentives to their members, employees, and students to go out into the world and connect with those who are feeling powerless.
Time is not in favor of those who wish to save American democracy and sustain U.S. leadership abroad. Arendt showed us what really is going on in America, and what can happen if we fail to act. She made it clear, it can happen here.
David L. Carden served as the first resident U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He is the author of Mapping ASEAN: Achieving Peace, Prosperity, and Sustainability in Southeast Asia and has written for Foreign Policy, Politico, the SAIS Review of International Affairs, the Guardian, the South China Morning Post, and Strategic Review, among others. He also is a mediator and serves on the Board of the Weinstein International Foundation, which promotes the use of mediation around the world.
Loneliness is by Yasser Alghofily and is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
