You make really good points about the dangers of populism. The problem for economic liberalism in this political moment seems to be that no political party really has an answer for the grievances that voters have. Both parties have historically embraced elements of populism; in this moment, the Republican Party seems to be embracing populist rhetoric more than the Democrats, which means the Republicans are speaking to people's desire for change while the Democrats are the defenders of a more restrained agenda of tinkering with the status quo. I don't necessarily think MAGA supporters have a coherent ideology. They respond to Trump because he channels their anger at the system. Regardless of whether you agree with populist economic proposals, politicians need to speak to people's needs in clear language and present bold solutions. Neither party's policies can really be described as economically liberal. So my question is how do we defend against populist tendencies without seeming to defend a broken neoliberal order that has been a disaster for large swaths of this country?
I appreciate the note! I generally don’t love UBI. I think it implies a pessimistic view of the value average workers provide to a society. Tech elites tend to believe that they will be the sole creators of value of society and that average people have little to contribute - hence the need to subsidize their existence. I think that’s wrong - and is more driven by elite bias than reality.
You make really good points about the dangers of populism. The problem for economic liberalism in this political moment seems to be that no political party really has an answer for the grievances that voters have. Both parties have historically embraced elements of populism; in this moment, the Republican Party seems to be embracing populist rhetoric more than the Democrats, which means the Republicans are speaking to people's desire for change while the Democrats are the defenders of a more restrained agenda of tinkering with the status quo. I don't necessarily think MAGA supporters have a coherent ideology. They respond to Trump because he channels their anger at the system. Regardless of whether you agree with populist economic proposals, politicians need to speak to people's needs in clear language and present bold solutions. Neither party's policies can really be described as economically liberal. So my question is how do we defend against populist tendencies without seeming to defend a broken neoliberal order that has been a disaster for large swaths of this country?
I appreciate the note! I generally don’t love UBI. I think it implies a pessimistic view of the value average workers provide to a society. Tech elites tend to believe that they will be the sole creators of value of society and that average people have little to contribute - hence the need to subsidize their existence. I think that’s wrong - and is more driven by elite bias than reality.