A Lot Of Populists After Populism Died

The Revival Of The Right Is As Extraordinary As It Would Be If The Public Had Demanded Dozens Of New Nuclear Plants In The Days After The Three Mile Island Disaster; If We Had Reacted To Watergate By Making Richard Nixon A National Hero.

Public Borrowing Is Costly These Days, True, But Interest Rates On Municipal Bonds Are Still Considerably Lower Than Those Borne By Corporate Debt.

Markets Are Interested In Profits And Profits Only; Service, Quality, And General Affluence Are Different Functions Altogether. The Universal, Democratic Prosperity That Americans Now Look Back To With Such Nostalgia Was Achieved Only By A Colossal Reigning In Of Markets, By The Gargantuan Effort Of Mass, Popular Organizations Like Labor Unions And Of The People Themselves, Working Through A Series Of Democratically Elected Governments Not Daunted By The Myths Of The Market.

What Becomes Fascinating Is The Way The Culture Industry Doesn't Deny It And Doesn't Try To Mitigate It, But Tries To Sell Its Products As A Way Of Liberating Oneself.

While Democrats Fussed With The Details Of Health Care Reforms, Conservatives Spent Months Telling The Nation That The Real Issue Is Freedom, That What's On The Line Is American Liberty Itself.