[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fWKLp_HPileZUzGheaWa7s3fdyiM7QylnW9CAdAisxQ0":3,"$f7WveNVMQ66AIlEnqdcTvAo5b4EtA8yadM3SM_L_bpDg":16},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},82398,"Yascha Mounk","Y",27,null,"yascha-mounk",[12],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},3993,"democracy",23,{"quotes":17,"pagination":115},[18,31,40,49,60,70,79,88,97,106],{"id":19,"quote_text":20,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":23,"source":24,"quote_tag":25,"commentary":9},785802,"This worldview breeds two political desires, and most populists are savvy enough to embrace both. First, populists claim, an honest leader—one who shares the pure outlook of the people and is willing to fight on their behalf—needs to win high office. And second, once this honest leader is in charge, he needs to abolish the institutional roadblocks that might stop him from carrying out the will of the people.",2,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[26],{"id":27,"tag":28},3682093,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},42792,"populism",{"id":32,"quote_text":33,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":34,"source":35,"quote_tag":36,"commentary":9},785798,"Populists are highly skilled at weaponizing these forms of resentment: their rhetoric simultaneously aims to turn the growing anger at affluent people against the ruling elite and to turn the growing focus on ascriptive identity against immigrants as well as ethnic and religious minorities.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[37],{"id":38,"tag":39},3682085,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},785797,"In each of these places, they took strikingly similar steps to consolidate their power: they ratcheted up tensions with perceived enemies at home and abroad; packed courts and electoral commissions with their cronies; and took control of the media.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[46],{"id":47,"tag":48},3682084,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},{"id":50,"quote_text":51,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":52,"source":53,"quote_tag":54,"commentary":9},654147,"In this book, a liberal is somebody who is committed to basic values like freedom of speech, the separation of powers, or the protection of individual rights.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[55],{"id":56,"tag":57},3334231,{"id":58,"tag_name":59},6544,"liberal",{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":69},598118,"Over the past decades, countries across North America and Western Europe have become less democratic. Our political system promises to let the people rule. But in practice, it ignores the popular will with disheartening frequency. Unnoticed by most political scientists, a system of rights without democracy has taken hold.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[66],{"id":67,"tag":68},3156855,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},"**The Backstory**\nYascha Mounk, a historian and political scientist, likely wrote this quote in his book \"The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It\" (2018). At that time, Mounk was concerned about the decline of democratic values in Western societies, particularly in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the rise of populist movements. As a dual-expert in history and behavioral psychology, I can attest that Mounk's work was influenced by his observations of the growing disconnect between citizens and their governments.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nMounk's quote reveals a paradoxical truth: democracy, in its ideal form, promises to empower the people, but in practice, it often ignores the popular will. This tension arises from the fact that democratic systems can become entrenched in a bureaucratic elite that prioritizes the interests of special groups over those of the broader population. By highlighting the disconnection between democratic theory and practice, Mounk challenges readers to confront the reality that democracy is not always a guarantee of popular sovereignty.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that true democratic engagement requires more than just voting; it demands an active, informed, and critical citizenry that holds its leaders accountable. By acknowledging the disconnect between democratic ideals and reality, professionals and creatives can develop a more nuanced understanding of power dynamics and work towards creating more inclusive, participatory systems that genuinely represent the will of the people.",{"id":71,"quote_text":72,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":73,"source":74,"quote_tag":75,"commentary":9},598117,"At the core of this nostalgia stands a double desire for control: Citizens want their nation to be able to make its own decisions, unencumbered by the constraints of the global economy.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[76],{"id":77,"tag":78},3156854,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":80,"quote_text":81,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":82,"source":83,"quote_tag":84,"commentary":9},598115,"In the American context, this is especially striking in individual states: infamously, for example, California now spends a lot more on its prisons than it does on its world-class universities.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[85],{"id":86,"tag":87},3156850,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":89,"quote_text":90,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":91,"source":92,"quote_tag":93,"commentary":9},598114,"In short, the exorbitant cost of housing is now one of the most important reasons for the stagnation of livingstandards across North America and Western Europe. If defeating populism hinges in part on making citizens more optimistic about the future, a radical reorientation of housing policy is urgently needed.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[94],{"id":95,"tag":96},3156849,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":98,"quote_text":99,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":100,"source":101,"quote_tag":102,"commentary":9},598113,"Especially in the world’s biggest cities, the explosion of housing prices has been staggering. In New York, for example, the average rent on an apartment in the 1960s was $200 per month, and a square foot of residential real estate cost $25 to buy. By the 2010s, average rent had grown to $3,500 and a square foot sold at $1,070.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[103],{"id":104,"tag":105},3156848,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"id":107,"quote_text":108,"author_id":5,"source_id":21,"has_image":22,"author":109,"source":110,"quote_tag":111,"commentary":9},598112,"This gives nation states an obvious point of leverage over their citizens: if they seek to retain access to its territory, they should have to pay taxes in the country.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[112],{"id":113,"tag":114},3156847,{"id":13,"tag_name":14},{"currentPage":116,"totalPages":117,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":118},1,3,10]