OPINION: The U.K.’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, is turning the page on self-destructive populism. Meanwhile, the United States continues to wallow in it. She might end up providing a model that American conservatives could follow.
WASHINGTON —The United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, is turning the page on self-destructive populism. Meanwhile, the United States continues to wallow in it. If she can navigate her premiership through its current choppy waters and into calmer seas, she might end up providing a model that American conservatives could follow.The story begins with the 2008 global financial crisis, which created so much slack in U.S.
Though Truss enthusiastically campaigned against Brexit in 2016, she supported the referendum’s outcome, quickly accepting the electorate’s decision. But despite Truss’s pro-Brexit stance, she is moving British politics beyond populism in several important respects, providing a model that U.S. politicians—particularly those on the right—should follow.
The problem, of course, is that slow growth breeds the kind of distributional conflicts on which populism thrives. It is no surprise that American populists, who exploit such conflicts, tend to prioritize cultural goals and identity politics over growth. If you feel that you lack agency and are the victim of a rigged system, you will conclude that you aren’t responsible for your economic circumstances. You may seek recourse through grievance.
In the U.S., populism has led the political right to turn its back not just on immigration but also on trade. Before becoming prime minister, Truss came to prominence as the U.K.’s trade secretary, when she tried hard to forge a post-Brexit trade agreement with the U.S. But with Trump in the White House, she ran into a brick wall.
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