Yes, and there is some potential for that. We’ve seen things like Occupy Wall Street and Arab Spring, but it takes a lot to get from that to forming a cohesive group and rising to power. Open democratic people-to-people spaces don’t inherently provide a charismatic leader, a spin artist who can craft sweet soundbites and propaganda and keep the focus on just a few points that all the diverse followers can agree on, or some larger way to keep people’s dedication up and sustain the momentum of a movement.
We may see that happen. I think the level of success that Bernie Sanders’ campaign had was an indicator that that sort of thing is getting closer, even if it didn’t happen this time and was ostensibly within the Democrat party.
