This book can be read in three different ways: First, as a response to rising populism. Much attention has been paid, for good reason, to the rise of rightwing populism in many countries, especially in democratic ones. However, if by populism one means a direct political bond between a charismatic leader and the masses, a bond that occurs outside established institutional channels, leftwing populism should also be taken into account. To use the US as an example, Bernie Sanders was not a member of the Democratic Party when he ran for nomination as its presidential candidate, and he was about as critical of the Democratic Party as Trump was of the Republican Party. Both were opposed by the establishment of the two parties. (Macron won the French presidential election, against all candidates of established parties, and created his own party in the process.) Viewed this way, one notes that although rightwing populism is not embraced by the majority of the public in most of the nations in which it is rising, if one adds those on the left who are deeply troubled by the existing political regime, one finds that a large majority of the citizens are alienated and distrust major institutions of their countries. For instance, Gallup polling shows that in 2017, roughly two-thirds of Americans have reported feeling “dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States.”According to a 2016 poll, “The overall average of Americans expressing ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in 14 [U.S.] institutions [was] below 33%.”

As I see it, these majorities have strong reasons to be disaffected. To dismiss their concerns as merely reflecting ignorance, prejudice, or credulity is both empirically wrong and unhelpful in dealing with the crisis they pose to the legal order of liberal democracy. I fully recognize that the populist response to loss of jobs and benefits, increased economic insecurity, and accelerating social and cultural changes is deeply troubling and must be corrected. However, to proceed one should recognize that their disaffection is driven by valid concerns. This book tries to outline a response that does not dismiss these concerns but rejects the ways populists react to them.