Donald Trump’s return to the White House benefited greatly from Americans’ reluctance to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s decline until it was too late for the Democrats to choose a candidate suited to confronting the US’s evolving challenges. Our coalition government is similarly vulnerable.

The post-Cold War period ended with the Berlin Wall falling and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Yet it is reasonable to assert that what ushered in the zeitgeist that defined a generation was the inauguration of Nelson Mandela. Social scientists use the awkward term “normative” to describe politics and policies that seek what “ought to be”. Normative policies are appealing, particularly to those less advantaged, but they do not negate the need for pragmatic policies...

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