Economic Policies and Identity Politics
Conventional wisdom holds that today’s angry populism will wane if income is distributed more fairly. But unless we address the identity clash on which populism thrives, politics will become so nasty that spurring innovation, reducing income inequality, improving public services, and fighting climate change could become impossible.
LONDON – What kinds of economic policies should centrist reformers pursue? The standard answer is that they should target innovation-driven economic growth and a fair distribution of income. Achieving these goals simultaneously would be difficult under normal circumstances. Nowadays, the clash of identities threatening to tear apart many democratic societies makes it even harder.