Such an alternative is provided by the politics of nationalism, sectarianism, and identity – a politics based on cultural values and symbolism rather than bread-and-butter interests. When politics is waged on these grounds, elections are won by those who are most successful at “priming” our latent cultural and psychological markers, not those who best represent our interests.
但另一个更危险的答案在于政治领袖为当选而所采取的战略。代表主要是经济精英的利益的政客需要找到其他途径吸引大众。这条途径可以通过民族主义、宗派主义和身份政治找到——即基于文化价值和符号而不是面包和黄油利益的政治。当政治建立在这些基础上时，赢得选举的将是最能“激发”我们的潜在文化和心理标签的政客，而不是最能代表我们的利益的政客。