Linda Colley argues that we all have a role to play in resolving our present political difficulties.
In tough times, she says, there's a long history of people searching for a "modern man on horseback, a populist hero, who they hope will come and rescue them and make the bad things go away".
But she says there are many problems with this - the most obvious one being that "leaders of this sort never properly deliver and usually do immense damage".
She concludes that all of us must get involved in the work of effective democratic politics.
Producer: Adele Armstrong