Failure‑plus‑values fuels populism

Anti‑establishment politics spikes when two things coincide: visible, concrete failures by institutions (war mistakes, bailouts, public‑health missteps) and a perceived cultural drift among elites toward cosmopolitan, socially liberal values. Either factor alone is often insufficient; their interaction creates a durable grievance that demagogues can convert into votes. — This interactional framing shifts debate from 'which single cause matters' to asking how objective failures and cultural signaling combine to produce durable populist coalitions.