During the past decade, a populist revolt against long-established political arrangements has erupted throughout the West. This surge reflects deep-seated trends in contemporary market economies—in particular, the shift from mass manufacturing and resource extraction to information and services, which worked to the advantage of large metropolitan areas at the expense of smaller towns and rural regions. It reflects, as well, deep-seated cultural anxieties triggered by mass migration and the growing breach between progressivist and traditional attitudes on a range of social issues.
The populist uprising has triggered concerns about the future of liberal democracy, whose triumph seemed assured just a quarter of a century ago. CONT.
William A. Galston, Brookings Institution