> My conclusion is that populism comes about when the "elites" perform badly. That's only half true, or maybe a quarter. Actually, populism comes about when th

> My conclusion is that populism comes about when the "elites" perform badly. That's only half true, or maybe a quarter. Actually, populism comes about when the people (are led to) believe that the (patsy) "elites" perform badly. Without that clarification, we would miss the most likely explanations for present day populism. > Populism goes away when either the populist politicians don't improve things or when the elites get their act in order. This is manifestly false today, the elites are now consolidating power for themselves, removing competitors left and right, mostly left because the right surrendered without a fight. In the end, they not only retain power but get more of it while acting materially worse.