Clive Crook, Columnist

Must-Reads of 2017: Progressives vs. Populists

Three books explain why Trump and Brexit should have come as no surprise.

December 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM UTC

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering economics. Previously, he was deputy editor of the Economist and chief Washington commentator for the Financial Times.

No respect.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images

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The great political question of the moment is what to make of the rise of populism -- both in the U.S. and in Europe. Few things matter more than containing and turning back this surge's excesses, but doing so will be far more difficult if its causes go unexamined. Three books published this year made invaluable contributions to this essential endeavor.

The populist campaigns that elected Donald Trump, started the countdown to Brexit, and put far-right political parties in or close to power in much of Europe are essentially protest movements -- and in every case, the white working class has been the driving force.