Plato warned that an unhealthy democracy can become vulnerable to tyranny. Kenneth Michael White, an associate professor of political science and criminal justice at Kennesaw State University, argues that several developments in the United States resemble the conditions described in Plato’s scenario: close allies view the U.S. as a threat to peace; immigration raids by poorly trained federal agents have terrorized cities; President Donald Trump says that only his own morality limits his power; the Trump administration has politicized the Justice Department; and many of Trump’s political nominees refuse to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.

White writes that dishonest leaders, declining trust and a cultural tendency toward violence are symptoms of the problem. Research suggests that courts are ineffective at producing significant political change, he says, and therefore cannot adequately counter the current democratic crisis. The more fundamental response, in his view, is an educated citizenry supported by a free press and an engaged public.

A decline in reason

The U.S. government is intended to be run by the people, with what Founding Father James Madison called their “cool and deliberate” judgment in charge. That democratic ideal depends on citizens considering different sides of an argument before reaching a decision.

White says the modern era, however, is marked by misinformation and so-called alternative facts. Only 1 in 5 Americans believe Republicans and Democrats can agree on basic facts, according to the Pew Research Center.

The American experiment tested whether a government could be founded on reason. That requires a shared understanding of objective reality, White writes.

A decline in trust

Trust in government has also fallen. Only 17% of Americans now trust Washington to do what is right most of the time, one of the lowest readings since polling began in 1958, when 73% expressed that level of trust, according to the Pew Research Center.

That decline matters because, as Pew has stated, “trust is associated with better-functioning democratic institutions.” Confidence in other democratic institutions has weakened as well. Only 28% of Americans express a great deal or fair amount of trust in newspapers, television and radio to report “fully, accurately and fairly,” an all-time low, according to Gallup. Adults under 30 now trust social media as much as they trust national news organizations, according to the Pew Research Center.

Americans have also lost trust in one another. Only 34% of adults believe that “most people can be trusted,” Pew reported. Meanwhile, 83% of Americans say the country has turned away from its founding ideals, while 37% believe violence may be necessary “to get the nation back on track,” according to a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.

During periods of turmoil, White writes, people may be tempted to seek change through what Abraham Lincoln called the “mobocratic spirit.” Lincoln described that spirit as one in which mobs would “throw printing presses into rivers, shoot editors, and hang and burn obnoxious persons at pleasure.” His remedy, despite his minimal formal schooling, was a better-educated citizenry that followed facts and reason rather than base passions.

A more informed voter

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia partly because he believed educated citizens were necessary for successful self-government. Political behavior research typically measures education by formal schooling. By that measure, education is the most consistent predictor of political knowledge, and people with more education are more likely to vote.

In 2024, turnout among people with an undergraduate degree was 77%, compared with 53% among high school graduates, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Conversely, lower levels of education are associated with greater belief in conspiracy theories and less esteem for journalists.

The media under threat

The media is itself a source of education. Journalists report on government affairs and serve as watchdogs by exposing abuse and corruption. White argues that the press is now under siege.

Trump has called the press “an enemy of the people.” Since 2017, there have been more than 1,400 incidents of physical violence against journalists, most of them committed by law enforcement, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The Justice Department has subpoenaed journalists and sought to compel them to testify about their newsgathering. First Amendment advocates say such actions chill reporting.

Americans trust local news outlets more than national organizations, but local newspapers are disappearing at alarming rates. As more people obtain news from social media rather than professional reporters, and as local outlets close or consolidate with larger organizations, White says he believes political polarization will increase.

The true corrective

Ultimately, Americans get the government they deserve, White writes, because politicians tend to represent what voters want. Tip O’Neill, the 47th speaker of the House, once said, “All politics is local,” meaning that action takes place wherever people live. White argues that the corrective begins there, with voters informed enough to think critically and debate public policy on its merits rather than attack their opponents.

In 1820, responding to an argument that courts were the ultimate check on abuses of constitutional power, Jefferson wrote that there is “no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves.” He described education as the “true corrective.”

What comes next?

If education is part of the solution, White writes, society must first address what it means to be educated. That is not a simple question. Whether someone attended college, and where, has become a partisan marker in the United States.

The country currently has a diploma divide: White voters without a college degree mostly support Republicans, while White voters with a college degree mostly support Democrats. Over the past 50 years, the share of Republican representatives who attended elite institutions fell from 40% to 15%, while the share of Republican senators who did so declined from 55% to 35%, respectively.

But facts remain the same at an Ivy League school, a public university or the local pub. Whatever education means—and it does not necessarily mean simply attending college—it must include the ability to distinguish personal ideological passions from objective facts.

“Passion has helped us; but can do so no more,” Lincoln warned before the Civil War. “It will in future be our enemy.”

Kenneth Michael White is an Associate Professor of Political Science & Criminal Justice at Kennesaw State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The source article was published by Alternet.