Hasan Cemal

The historic Democratic victory in the midterms is a lifeline for US democracy. It would be a mistake to minimize the importance of Democrats taking control of the House and the Senate and doing so resoundingly. Yet it would also be a huge mistake to fail to recognize that the toughest part starts now. Senator Jon Ossoff stated in his victory speech: “we must acknowledge that the underlying crisis gripping our republic remains and that therefore our most vital work lies ahead.” But even this frank assessment understates the severity of the challenge facing the party. Tuesday’s outcome was an anti-Trump vote. But it was delivered by the same frustrated voters that brought Trump to power and gave both houses to Republicans in 2024 in an anti-Biden vote. If Democrats cannot grapple with the obscene levels of inequality in this country, with the real affordability crisis and with the vexing problem of creating good jobs for Americans of all skills, the pendulum could swing back in 2028. Democrats need a platform that is at once realistic andradical to tackle the tremendous economic challenges for workers. Neither progressive Democrats’ reliance on taxes, transfers and traditional regulations, nor centrists’ attachment to the status quo, nor the wishful thinking of those banking on AI-driven “abundance” is radical enough. The inequality, affordability and jobs problems facing Americans will only get worse in the coming AI economy. Democrats need to articulate new aspirations and a new governing philosophy, as I have argued in my book What Happened to Liberal Democracy. penguinrandomhouse.com/books… These have to be centered on creating well-paid, career-building jobs for all workers, and especially those without a college degree, who have been left behind in the postindustrial economy of the last half century. This agenda must start with a workable plan for redirecting AI, so that this promising technology isn’t shaped by the dreams of a small cadre intent on artificial superintelligence and automation of most of what humans do. We must instead articulate why it is feasible and desirable to build pro-worker AI and how this can create jobs and decent incomes for workers. We must also propose policies to help a new pro-worker AI economy (and some of the elements of such a policy are outlined in this piece: nature.com/articles/d41586-0… more details can be found here: brookings.edu/articles/build…). This effort must be accompanied by a broad enough Democratic tent that recognizes the cultural as well as economic discontent of working-class communities. The worst response to Tuesday’s results would be for Democrats to rest on their laurels. The hard work starts now.