The Dying Citizen
How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America
Book Edition Details
Summary
"The Dying Citizen (2021) explores the ways in which modern American democracy is being weakened. Touching on issues like globalization and identity politics, it discusses how left-wing progressives are damaging the foundations of the United States. "
Introduction
Picture the bustling forum of ancient Athens, where ordinary farmers and merchants gathered to debate the fate of their city-state. These citizens possessed something remarkable—the economic independence and civic knowledge necessary to govern themselves. Fast-forward twenty-five centuries, and we find ourselves witnessing the gradual erosion of this extraordinary achievement. The very foundations that once made democratic citizenship exceptional are crumbling, not through foreign conquest, but through internal decay that transforms citizens into subjects and republics into administrative states. This transformation reveals itself in multiple disturbing trends: the hollowing out of the middle class that once anchored democratic society, the rise of tribal loyalties that supersede national identity, and the emergence of an unelected administrative elite wielding powers that rival those of elected officials. Perhaps most troubling is how these modern developments echo ancient patterns of human organization, threatening to drag us back to pre-civilizational forms of governance where the many serve the few. This analysis provides essential insights for concerned citizens, students of history, and anyone seeking to understand why democratic institutions feel increasingly fragile in our time.
From Ancient Citizenship to Modern Peasantry (700 BC-2020s)
The revolutionary concept of citizenship emerged in the dusty hills of ancient Greece around 700 BC, when small farmers first dared to imagine they could govern themselves. These early citizens, or politai, were neither aristocrats nor slaves, but middle-class property owners who bore their own weapons and made their own laws. Their economic independence gave them political independence, creating humanity's first experiment in consensual government. This foundation rested on a profound insight that Aristotle captured perfectly: the "middle ones" possessed neither the arrogance of the wealthy nor the desperation of the poor, making them natural guardians of freedom. For over two millennia, this principle endured through the Roman Republic, medieval city-states, and eventually the American experiment. The Founding Fathers understood that widespread property ownership and economic independence were essential to democratic government. Yet today, this ancient foundation crumbles before our eyes. The American middle class has been steadily eroded over the past fifty years, with real wages stagnating while housing, education, and healthcare costs skyrocket. Young Americans increasingly find themselves trapped in debt, unable to achieve the economic security their grandparents took for granted. Like medieval peasants, they depend on distant landlords and creditors for basic needs, making them vulnerable to political manipulation and less capable of independent thought. This economic dependency creates a vicious cycle that undermines democratic participation. When citizens lack the material security that comes from property ownership and stable employment, they become more reliant on government assistance and less capable of the independent judgment that democratic citizenship requires. The transformation from property-owning citizens to debt-burdened consumers represents nothing less than a return to pre-modern forms of social organization.
Border Collapse and the End of National Identity (1965-Present)
The transformation of American immigration policy beginning in 1965 marked a turning point in the nation's understanding of citizenship itself. The Hart-Celler Act abolished the national origins quota system, promising modest change while delivering demographic revolution. Within a generation, immigration sources shifted dramatically from Europe to Latin America, Asia, and Africa, while the traditional expectation of assimilation gave way to multiculturalism that celebrated difference over unity. This shift served powerful interests across the political spectrum. Corporate America gained access to cheap labor that undercut wages for American workers, while progressive politicians saw opportunities to import new constituencies supporting expanded government programs. Meanwhile, countries sending immigrants encouraged the exodus as a safety valve for domestic problems and a source of billions in remittances. The consequences for citizenship have been profound and predictable. When residency becomes functionally equivalent to citizenship, the value of citizenship itself diminishes. Sanctuary cities emerged to shield illegal immigrants from federal law, while the very language describing immigration was systematically altered to obscure distinctions between legal and illegal entry. The melting pot that once forged diverse peoples into Americans was replaced by a salad bowl where ingredients remain forever separate. This transformation strikes at the heart of what makes democratic citizenship possible. When millions can live permanently in America while ignoring its laws, the rule of law weakens. When newcomers are encouraged to maintain primary loyalty to their countries of origin, national unity fragments. The result has been the creation of parallel societies within America—communities that exist physically within the United States but remain culturally and linguistically separate, setting the stage for the tribal conflicts that have torn apart other multiethnic societies throughout history.
Tribal Politics and the Return to Pre-Civilization (1960s-2020s)
Perhaps the most dangerous threat to American citizenship comes from the resurgence of tribalism—the ancient human tendency to organize society around blood, race, and ethnic identity rather than shared principles. For most of human history, people lived in tribes and clans that viewed outsiders with suspicion and hostility. The development of citizenship in ancient Greece and Rome represented humanity's first successful attempt to transcend these primitive loyalties in favor of higher political organization. The American experiment took this concept further than any society in history, creating a nation based not on ethnic purity or religious uniformity, but on the revolutionary idea that people of different backgrounds could unite around common principles of liberty, equality, and self-governance. The melting pot became America's greatest strength, allowing waves of immigrants to shed old tribal identities and become simply Americans. This remarkable achievement began unraveling in the 1960s with the rise of identity politics. What started as necessary efforts to extend full citizenship rights to African Americans gradually evolved into something far more radical: the systematic division of Americans into competing racial and ethnic categories, each with its own grievances and claims to special treatment. Universities began holding separate graduation ceremonies by race, government agencies tracked citizens by ethnicity, and politicians appealed directly to racial voting blocs rather than to Americans as a whole. The consequences have been predictable and tragic. When citizens begin seeing themselves primarily as members of racial or ethnic tribes rather than as Americans, the bonds holding society together start to fray. Trust erodes, cooperation becomes difficult, and politics becomes zero-sum competition between groups rather than a search for the common good. The very diversity that once strengthened America now threatens to tear it apart, as each tribe seeks advantages at others' expense while the concept of shared American identity withers away.
The Administrative State vs Democratic Governance (1930s-2020s)
The final assault on American citizenship comes from an unexpected source: the very government that citizens elect to serve them. Over the past century, power has steadily shifted from elected representatives to an unelected bureaucracy operating beyond voters' direct control. This administrative state has grown into a fourth branch of government, wielding executive, legislative, and judicial powers without the constitutional checks and balances that constrain elected officials. The roots of this transformation lie in Progressive Era beliefs that complex modern problems require expert solutions beyond ordinary citizens' capabilities. Woodrow Wilson and other progressives argued that trained professionals could manage society more efficiently than the messy processes of democratic debate and compromise. The New Deal and Great Society dramatically expanded this vision, creating hundreds of agencies staffed by millions of bureaucrats with power to regulate every aspect of American life. Today, federal agencies issue thousands of new regulations annually, far exceeding the number of laws passed by Congress. These regulations carry the force of law, yet they are written by people who never face voters and cannot be easily removed from office. The Environmental Protection Agency can redefine property rights, the Internal Revenue Service can target political opponents, and intelligence agencies can surveille American citizens with minimal oversight. This concentration of power in unelected hands represents a fundamental betrayal of democratic principles. When President Trump challenged this system, the bureaucracy openly resisted, with officials proudly declaring themselves part of "the resistance" against an elected president. When citizens can no longer control their government through the ballot box, they cease to be citizens and become subjects. The administrative state may promise efficiency and expertise, but it delivers something far more dangerous: the death of democratic accountability and the rise of soft despotism that keeps citizens in perpetual childhood while claiming to act in their best interests.
Summary
The decline of American citizenship reveals a disturbing historical pattern—regression from the hard-won achievements of constitutional government back to primitive forms of organization that characterized pre-civilizational societies. Whether through economic dependency, tribal loyalty, or bureaucratic control, the fundamental relationship between citizen and state is being transformed in ways familiar to subjects of ancient empires but alien to the American constitutional tradition. The core contradiction running through this transformation is the simultaneous expansion and dilution of citizenship. As formal citizenship has been extended to more people and more rights have been recognized, the substance of citizenship has been hollowed out. Citizens have gained entitlements but lost independence, been granted protections but surrendered self-governance, been promised equality but delivered dependence. This represents not progress but regression—a return to patterns of human organization that the American experiment was designed to transcend. The path forward requires recognizing that citizenship is not a birthright but an achievement that must be constantly renewed. It demands economic independence, cultural assimilation, and political engagement. Citizens must reclaim control over their government, insist on the rule of law, and resist the siren call of tribal identity. Most importantly, they must remember that the alternative to citizenship is not some benevolent form of managed society, but a return to age-old patterns of dominance and submission that have characterized most of human history. The choice remains what it has always been: between the hard work of self-governance and the easy surrender to those who promise to govern for us.
By Victor Davis Hanson
