from multiple sides of the political spectrum taps so effectively -- not just now but throughout political history. Human emotion is such a powerful force and we have examples all around us how easily emotion can overcome any semblance of reality.

This is not a new phenomenon, but we do seem to be living in a time with a somewhat new set of incredibly powerful conditions that serve as a catalyst for this current wave of populism. At at time where we should be at the height of our collective "intelligence" given the greatest access in human history to information and the current picture of global prosperity (not that we don't have serious conflict and poverty issues, but relative to other times during the past 2000 years) - these conditions appear to be leading to us act with more emotion and less rational thought both individually and as a society.

People can argue all day about exact cause and effect and no doubt it is a complex set of factors, but I think we would be blind not to be very concerned about how we are utilizing/handling certain aspects of information technology and social media and the effect it is having on the fabric of societies -- especially with some younger generations now growing up in things where this is all they know and how they have learned.