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Kindle Notes & Highlights
The old divides of class and economic interest have not disappeared but are increasingly over-laid by a larger and looser one—between the people who see the world from Anywhere and the people who see it from Somewhere. Anywheres dominate our culture and society. They . . . have portable ‘achieved’ identities, based on educational and career success, which makes them generally comfortable and confident with new places and people.
What is striking is that with respect to attitudes toward refugees, Catholic Poland is no different than Orthodox Romania and the economically advantaged Czech Republic no more welcoming than the much poorer Bulgaria.
Instead of choosing between a sovereign democracy, a globalized democracy, or a globalization-friendly authoritarianism, political elites try to redefine democracy and sovereignty in order to make possible the impossible. The outcome is unworkable: you end up with democracy without choices, sovereignty without meaning, and globalization without legitimacy.
The electoral success of the populist parties transforms democracy from an instrument for inclusion into an instrument of exclusion.
In short, what populists promise their voters is not competence but intimacy.
