Looking at the way major economies in recent years have managed to combine chaotic politics with decent growth, it’s tempting to wonder whether we’re all making too much fuss about the behavior of the people in power.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump has joked about becoming president for life, toyed with overturning the constitution by executive fiat, and used emergency powers to pursue wrenching political shifts. In the U.K. the government is at war with Parliament and has thrown the residency rights of European citizens in jeopardy, while judges have been denounced as enemies of the people. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has undermined the independence of the central bank, revoked the autonomy of Kashmir and embarked on 2016’s disastrous demonetization, as my colleague Andy Mukherjee has chronicled.
