Banning Bannon from debate is good for democracy
Roy Thomson Hall will host a Munk Debate between Steve Bannon and David Frum on Nov. 2. The topic is: “Be it resolved, the future of western politics is populist, not liberal …”
We encourage all public debate, including those on controversial topics. Such dialogues are a welcome indicator of a democratic society.
However, Bannon’s invitation to participate should be rescinded not only because it undermines democratic principles, but also because his presence encourages white nationalist violence.
Since Bannon’s days as Trump’s former chief strategist and executive chair of Breitbart News Network, his ambitions have become global in magnitude. His new enterprise, that goes by the preten- tious name, “The Movement,” facilitates popular support for farright parties and authoritarian leaders around the world.
The Washington Post reports he has consulted with nationalist organizations in France, Italy, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Brazil and Colombia. Meanwhile, Bannon calls Hungarian President Viktor Orban “the most significant guy on the scene right now.”
Orban’s anti-democratic reforms include replacing Supreme Court judges with political allies, orchestrating a state takeover of media outlets, creating bogus opposition parties to ensure repeated majority wins in national elections and building a fence to keep out refugees. Bannon loves every bit of it.
Many describe Bannon’s political orientation as consistent with fascism. Bannon prefers his made-up category of “economic national- ism.” Whatever you want to call it, providing him with a high-profile Canadian stage encourages extremist groups like La Meute, Soldiers of Odin and Three Percenters to mobilize.
In Toronto, three far-right leaders — all of whom have publicly called for white nationalism and all of whom romanticize Nazism — are so emboldened that they came forward as mayoral candidates.
Bannon’s remarks, too, enable discriminatory acts against religious and racial minorities, Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees, LGBTQ persons, women and those who support diverse political views. That threatens our sense of belongingness in society and undermines the mutual trust on which the sharing of public space rests. It also puts at risk our charter rights to freedom of religion, speech, assembly and association.
By offering Bannon a platform, the Munk Debates confers respectability on his views while utterly dismissing the real consequences for us and the majority of people around the world.
Some argue that Bannon’s views, no matter how repugnant, ought to be allowed under the principle of free speech. But he has no respect for the liberal democracy from which this human right springs.
Why give such an acclaimed and hard-won freedom to someone who is outspoken about his contempt for democracy? Evoking the language of free speech gives Bannon the legitimacy that he, and his violent followers, desperately seek.
There is no justification for giving him a swank Toronto stage and an enormous fee to strengthen his project.