Populism is on the rise from Europe to India to the United States.
Americans elected Donald Trump on his promise to "Drain the swamp" of a political elite no longer responsive to their needs. Populists almost took control of Germany, France, and the Netherlands last year. This week, former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi regained power seven short years after being ousted from office for corruption.
In America, tension between popular will and the ruling elite has existed since our founding. Yet, we've always believed democracy would persist in this nation that was founded on democratic ideals of individual rights and the rule of law.
Today, we're losing our allegiance to democracy - especially in the minds of young people increasingly open to forms of government outside of democracy.
Is it too late to regain our democratic footing and stem the current tide of populism? If not, how do we do it?
GUEST:
- Yascha Mounk - Lecturer on Government at Harvard University and a Senior Fellow in the Political Reform Program at New America. He writes a weekly column for Slate, where he also hosts The Good Fight podcast. He’s the author of The People Vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is In Danger & How To Save It, which was released this week.
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 7, 2018.
