The populism that exists today is not new

Reader comment on: David Brooks and Bret Stephens on the GOP's Future

Submitted by Lyle (United States), Jan 21, 2023 12:49

Recall William Jennings Bryan, and the cross of gold speech. However with the current demographic situation the pendulum is swinging back to the way it was for most of us history where workers are in shortage. Recall that Bryan also was the prosecutor at the Scopes trial. Or going back a few years to the Populist Party whose platform was regarded as radical at the time but between the two Roosevelts was adoped as national polisy. Note that populism always includes at least some scorn for the elites and their ideas. Today also you have the fast generational rates of change which means older people find it difficult to change with the times, so that it takes generational change for some policies to be adopted

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