Straight White American Jesus Pulitzer Winner on How the End of the Cold War Created MAGA Populism
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Nov 24, 2025 Paul Starr, a Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar and founder of The American Prospect, unpacks the tumultuous political landscape of the 1990s. He discusses the enduring contradictions of American society—where liberty exists alongside inequality—and how they intensified during this era. Starr highlights the cultural wars, changing demographics, and the impact of policies like NAFTA. Additionally, he explores how institutions exacerbate polarization and shares a hopeful perspective on the potential for political reinvention in the U.S.
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Freedom Versus Founding Contradiction
- The U.S. contains a foundational contradiction between freedom and slavery that reshapes politics across eras.
- Paul Starr argues mid-20th-century Black struggles expanded rights and triggered broader social conflicts.
People Change, Institutions Resist
- The American people changed culturally and demographically while institutions remained rigid and 18th-century in design.
- Starr calls this mismatch a changing people and a resisting nation that favors status-quo groups.
Electoral Architecture Tilts Power
- The Senate and Electoral College give disproportionate power to small, predominantly white states and tilt outcomes.
- Starr argues these old institutions amplified narrow electoral wins into long-term political control.
