'Politics of hope can't just be about technocratic things. It has to address the deepest spiritual sources that move people'

ATA RECENT Adda, Michael Sandel, one of the world's foremost political  democracy, the rise of authoritarian philosophers, spoke on the state of leaders, and why it's a mistake for progressive parties to allow patriotism and national identity to become a monopoly of the right

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On the success of authoritarian populist figures The success of right-wing authoritarian populist figures and parties is usually a symptom of the failure of progressive politics. I certainly think that's true in the United States with the success of (Donald) Trump.

And so I think it should be an occasion not to look down on those people who are voting for Trump and similar candidates, but an occasion to ask if he is as disagreeable as we think he is. What does that say about us? Why is it that we have failed to offer a compelling alternative and does it have something to do with the tendency of elites to look down? And the cultural sources and the religious sources of populist appeal that too is worth taking seriously because technocratic politics that assumes it's only about the economy, misses the deepest sources, not only of the politics of grievance, but also of any politics of hope. A politics of hope can't just be about technocratic things. It has to address the deepest cultural and spiritual sources that move people, that give rise to people's anger and frustrations and resentments, but also to their hopes and aspirations. And for the most part, mainstream liberal elite technocratic politics over the last four or five decades has had a tin ear to that dimension of politics and aspiration.

On the backlash against elites We see the backlash against elites in many democratic societies and it takes different forms. But it's worth asking why.

Why the appeal of more nationalistic politics, sometimes various forms of religious fundamentalism in various countries and societies connected to the populist backlash.

And I think it's because for four to five decades governing elites embraced a hubristic conception of the economy and of politics...The free flow of capital and goods and people across borders is the wave of the future and anyone who challenges it or criticises it must be parochial or backward or intolerant.