Moral judgments about a politician are separate from the practical skill of winning elections. Making ideas popular and assembling a large coalition are central tasks in a democracy, rather than automatic evidence of bad government. At the same time, a democratic majority is composed of many different groups, so electoral success does not remove the obligation to protect minority rights. Political persuasion can be analyzed separately from agreement with the policy being sold. Parties become vulnerable when they cannot produce persuasive leaders and leave their machinery open to capture by a narrow faction.
Notable Point · 2:16:14-2:20:46
Popularity, persuasion, and democratic politics
A debate over the word populist becomes an argument that democratic politicians must persuade broad coalitions while still protecting minority rights.