Opinion | They Used to Rule the West. Now They’re Dying. | By Anton Jäger
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At least since World War II, the West has been defined by its party system: different in each place but usually involving a duopoly of ruling parties fringed by smaller outfits, each robustly anchored in society. The system was the groundwork on which Western political life was built — unobtrusive, unremarked upon, yet quietly essential.
After tottering awhile, it has started to give way. The consequences are legion: emboldened far rights, poisoned public spheres, fissiparous loyalties and a political future defined more by helplessness than by choice. These are the symptoms of our new, hyperpolitical age — where politics is all around and yet somehow eludes stable forms.