Last Thursday, Barack Obama gave a speech on pluralism as part of the 2024 Democracy Forum, an annual summit organized by the Obama Foundation in Chicago. It is the first major public pronouncement from the former president since Donald Trump’ re-election last month, as the Democratic party is still reeling from Kamala Harris’ landslide defeat, raising profound questions about the party’s political identity.
Obama set the table by acknowledging the deeply unequal forms that supposedly democratic structures have taken over the course of American history, and that this has, at times, contributed to a flawed sense of unity. “The biggest reason that American pluralism seemed to be working so well mainly had to do with who it left out,” he said, detailing the historic disenfranchisement of groups along lines of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation and identity. While civil rights legislation has addressed these to a certain extent, the 44th president also noted the role that inequality has played more recently in siloing off populations from each other across economic lines specifically, as “mediating institutions” like unions and churches continue to decline, and those with resources send their children to private school, where both parents and children are less likely to interact with people of different backgrounds. “If we want democracy as we understand it to survive,” he warned, “then we’re all going to have to work toward a renewed commitment to pluralist principles.”
Obama’s speech did not necessarily address the deep questions regarding the current state of his party’s ideological vacancy, but rather, offered advice on best practices for advocates across a range of issues. Chief among these was his observation that “building bridges is not contrary to equality and social justice.” He accepted that those seeking change should not compromise their convictions away to their opposition, while warning that “purity tests are not a recipe for long-term success.” He encouraged seeking support from people who may not immediately appear to be fully on-board with a particular mission as part of a coalition-building strategy, emphasizing the importance of making room “not just for the woke but for the waking.”
After outlining different ways of implementing pluralist practices – by looking for common ground; putting actions before rhetoric; building institutions with broad-based appeal – Obama acknowledged an uncomfortable question regarding today’s political climate: “what happens when the other side has repeatedly and abundantly made clear they are not interested in playing by the rules?” He cited examples like voter suppression, the politicization of the armed forces, and using the judiciary to attack political opponents. For the former president, even in these circumstances, “it’s important to look for allies in unlikely places” who may be able to “exert influence in people they’ve got relationships with within the other party.” While the idea appears sound on paper, it did not help the Harris campaign this fall, as she campaigned for weeks with never-Trump Republicans before a trouncing defeat to former President Trump.
