Why political centrists must rediscover their passion
They need to be clear about what opposing populism does and doesn’t mean, argues Yair Zivan
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS’S “The Second Coming” was written as a warning about the state of the world. Although “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” has perhaps become the most famous line of his poem, it is two other lines that should concern us all. As an estimated 2bn people across the world head to the polls in 2024, Yeats’s warning that “the best lack all conviction” while “the worst are full of passionate intensity” resonates loudly.
From the June 15th 2024 edition
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