Trains are a big part of the history and today’s ambience of the Upper East Side of Texas. Many people in small towns throughout the region hear the long, haunting
The ultimate cure for demagogic populism
Photo: AP
Michael Lind
American history shows that the best way to eliminate populism is to incorporate alienated constituencies into mainstream politics and address their legitimate grievances by sophisticated means.
As a political style, populism emerges when conventional politicians and party establishments ignore large groups of a country’s population.
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Donald Trump is the first true demagogue to have been the President of the United States. But politicians who claim to be tribunes of the powerless against corrupt establishments have historically been common in America at the state and local levels. As a form of politics, demagogic populism tends to flourish when large groups of citizens feel that conventional politicians are ignoring their interests and values.
When the familiar notes of “The Eyes of Texas” started to play from the speakers at the corner of the bar’s outdoor patio, conversations quieted and people began to sing.
Some were wearing matching T-shirts they had received upon entry to the bar, meant to signal their support for the song now washing over the students and alumni gathered to watch that Saturday’s football game.
It was one of many times that spectators at Cain and Abel s in West Campus would hear the University of Texas’ alma mater play during the game, and in any other year, the display would be perfectly normal.