"There were ways of winning elections that did not presuppose mass organization. After all, the Tories mostly controlled the press and could hire consultancy firms to rally voters.

In the late 1990s, the limits of this strategy began to reveal themselves. The British press threw in its lot with the modernized Labour Party of Tony Blair, which proved itself more adept at focus-group electioneering."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/opinion/political-parties-west-hyperpolitics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.TC2_.126Zyz4vsRaI&smid=url-share

🧵 2/3

#classism #poverty

"There were ways of winning elections that did not presuppose mass organization. After all, the Tories mostly controlled the press and could hire consultancy firms to rally voters.

In the late 1990s, the limits of this strategy began to reveal themselves. The British press threw in its lot with the modernized Labour Party of Tony Blair, which proved itself more adept at focus-group electioneering."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/opinion/political-parties-west-hyperpolitics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.TC2_.126Zyz4vsRaI&smid=url-share

🧵 2/3

#classism #poverty

"Over the same period, Western parties have increasingly relied on external funds rather than membership dues. This has made them more open to business influence, with all the volatility that entails, and liable to capture by cranks and extremists. Across Europe, traditional parties are a shadow of what they once were. Socially uprooted and economically dependent, they too have been hollowed out.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/opinion/political-parties-west-hyperpolitics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.TC2_.126Zyz4vsRaI&smid=url-share

🧵 1/3

#classism #poverty

"Over the same period, Western parties have increasingly relied on external funds rather than membership dues. This has made them more open to business influence, with all the volatility that entails, and liable to capture by cranks and extremists. Across Europe, traditional parties are a shadow of what they once were. Socially uprooted and economically dependent, they too have been hollowed out.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/opinion/political-parties-west-hyperpolitics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.TC2_.126Zyz4vsRaI&smid=url-share

🧵 1/3

#classism #poverty