What do this season’s political books tell as about the election? Sam Tanenhaus on how the divisions on display in this election year are not unique in our history. Will Trumpism outlive Trump? David Frum on where the Republican Party goes after this. Donald Trump is a distraction from the fact that the mainstream media has pretended the GOP is a normal party with values just to the right — now the country is paying the price. The Believer: Julia Ioffe on how Stephen Miller went from obscure Capitol Hill staffer to Donald Trump’s warm-up act — and resident ideologue. Conservatives have groomed the perfect suckers for Trump’s epic scam. To hear a billionaire land developer whine about “the people who rigged the system for their benefit” would be laughable if it weren’t so ridiculous. Michelle Fields on how Donald Trump is the epitome of the Washington elite he claims to hate: He wants you to think he’s anti-establishment, but he'd be right at home with other Beltway hucksters and egomaniacs.
Nicole M. Aschoff on why elites hate Trump: Battles over Trump’s candidacy reveal the tensions underlying the US-led global capitalist project. Why conservative intellectuals hate Trump: Nicholas Lemann reviews The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism by Yuval Levin. Where conservative ideas come from: Timothy Shenk on how historians of the Right face a reckoning in the time of Trump. Nate Cohn on how Right-wing populism is prevailing in Left-wing strongholds around the world. Populism, look left: “Angry people, turn your anger towards those who are responsible for your plight”. The revolt against the elites, or the new populist wave: Alexis Franco interviews Pierre-Andre Taguieff, director of research at Cevipof.
James Traub on why it’s time for the elites to rise up against the ignorant masses: The Brexit has laid bare the political schism of our time — it’s not about the left vs. the right; it’s about the sane vs. the mindlessly angry (and more). The world’s losers are revolting, and Brexit is only the beginning. Brexit is a reminder that some things just shouldn’t be decided by referendum. Yes, there is such a thing as too much democracy. Laura Cartwright on the EU debate, young people, and the giant, neoliberal-shaped “elephant in the room”. Matthew Yglesias on why Europe needs a real opposition party. Brexit doesn’t mean game over, but it may be just the first domino Brexit.
