Pollsters were surprised by the burst of populism in 2016, but many now think they shouldn’t have been. In the United States and United Kingdom, swaths of voters in deprived regions – places “left behind” by globalization – were given the chance to stick it to the system, and they took it. Why was anyone surprised? Pollsters have now been surprised by another trend. In this month’s European Parliament elections, far-right parties performed predictably well – but especially, and unexpectedly, among young people. A few years ago, “Generation Climate” – thought to be unquestionably liberal and progressive – were voting mostly green. But now, their vote has helped far-right parties capture one in four seats in Brussels. What happened? Perhaps the “left behind” is not only a geographical phenomenon, but generational. Gen-Z – those born between 1995 and 2012 – has been baptized in crises: first the financial, then the…
