Very good conversation between Michael Ignatieff and Yascha Mounk in the latest episode of The Good Fight, especially this interesting idea:
“You can’t operate a political system without a premise of friendship between adversaries. Friendship, in the sense of, “We’re all Americans.” … and what has been terrifying in the United States is the replacement of a politics of friends with a politics of enemies. And this then makes any possibility of legislative comity just impossible. That’s why one of my friends has talked about a civil war, because a civil war is a state where a politician across the other aisle regards you as an enemy who is about to destroy everything you value most, and must be resisted by all means, fair or foul. That culture of antagonism is extremely dangerous to the stability of democratic systems.”
Essentially this is an argument for pluralism, accepting opposing points of view as legitimate and a valid part of the system.
I remember the first time I watched the UK Parliament from the press gallery being struck by how much the politicians seem to have in common. I was used to watching PMQs when the parties shouted at each other in fierce opposition but on this slow afternoon, it felt more like a members club. To be honest I found it repugnant but Ignatieff makes a good point here.