The new reactionaries!

Washington

A REACTIONARY is someone who wishes to return, usually unrealistically, to an earlier and more appealing era. We have two reactionaries running for president. Both peddle agendas that promise to re-create a reassuring past. We are being fed different varieties of nostalgia. Neither will work.

Donald Trump is most explicit. He pledges to "make America great again". What does this mean? For starters, it suggests that non-Hispanic whites will recapture political power that has shifted to immigrants and their children. Many would simply be tossed out of the country. After this, Mr Trump will reinvigorate the economy by tearing up many, perhaps all, of our trade agreements, which he blames for our economic problems.