Precarious Populism

When I was a student in the Soviet Union, during Gorbachev's final months, my landlady used to take the dog out for a walk at the same time every night. Since it was winter and I am no dog lover, I decided not to join her. But when the weather cleared up I once accompanied her and found that she met several other local dog owners at exactly the same time. The timing, it turned out, was no coincidence. They called it Dog Hour--the moment when the state-sponsored news program Vremya came on, and they therefore left the house.

Frustrated as they were, none suspected that the superpower state they found so maddening would soon collapse. The party was still in control and the state had a formidable military at its disposal. But what was clear from this nightly routine of passive resistance was that the system had not only failed in its mission to deliver goods and services to the people; it had lost all credibility with them. It had power but lacked influence.

Following the news over the past few months, I have felt like taking a quick walk around the block myself. Watching global capitalism disintegrate in real time is a dizzying experience.

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