Many of the top economic thinkers in the early 1900's had concerns that are very similar to those that we are dealing with today. Trade between nations was growing along with immigration; inequality was growing over the objection of trade unions and many nations were not ready for cultural and racial diversity. There were also concerns about monopoly and the capture of the state by business interests. That paved the way for demagoguery and our first world war. The similarity between the rise of demagogues prior to the first world war is very similar to what we see in many nations today. Demagogues operate in the same way today as they did in the 1900's. They win elections and gain political power by offering solutions for the common problems that arise for which they have no real solutions. Democracy fails and the threat of warfare increases. David Brooks, for example, has his own ideas about how to conserve our liberal democracy.
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