Yascha Mounk
Liberalism, populism, and free inquiry (Persuasion).
German-American political scientist, Professor of the Practice at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and founder of the pro-liberal-democracy publication Persuasion. He is known for writing on the crisis of liberal democracy, populism, and identity politics, and is the author of five books including 'The People vs. Democracy' and 'The Identity Trap' (2023). As of 2026 he writes a weekly column at Persuasion and hosts 'The Good Fight' podcast.
The strongest case
Classical-liberal values — free speech, viewpoint diversity, and equal individual rights — must be defended symmetrically against both right-wing populist authoritarianism and left-wing identitarian orthodoxy, because open discourse is the only durable antidote to both.
And against
Critics argue he flattens a range of left-wing thought into a single 'identitarian' caricature, and that his even-handed centrism can understate the asymmetry of the threats he compares.
How to support
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