What ‘Hyperpolitics’ Explains About This Era
Summary
Ezra Klein interviews historian Anton Yeger to discuss his concept of “hyperpolitics,” a political era defined by intense, volatile mobilization lacking stable institutional attachment. They explore how digital media and algorithmic attention accelerate this frenzy, causing rapid shifts in public sentiment and policy focus. The conversation contrasts this with 20th-century mass politics, arguing that the decline of unions and parties has weakened the capacity to translate popular pressure into lasting reform.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: New York Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel
Defining 'Hyperpolitics' and the political present
Politicization vs. institutionalization: A historical framework
The volatility and frenzy of contemporary politics
Digital politics, algorithms, and attention economies
Institutional actors and the DSA: Ideological flexibility
Historical contrast: Mass membership politics in Europe
Exit costs, stigma, and the nature of party affiliation
The loneliness epidemic and collective power
Can mass power translate into governmental reform?
Individual capacity vs. structural power shifts
Sponsor: New York Philharmonic
Sponsor: New York Community Trust
Sponsor: Conservation Fund
Elites, Walter Lippmann, and the cost of political expression
Elite polarization and the absence of class solidarity
Trump's short-termism and structural vs. personal agency
MAGA as a movement: Institutionalization and paramilitary groups
Sponsor: New York Philharmonic
Sponsor: YouTube Premium
State capacity, lobbying, and the difficulty of policy change
Comparing US and Chinese state capacity and legitimacy
The end of post-politics and the rise of political literacy
Book recommendations: Deutsch, Orwell, and Welsch
Sponsor: Con Edison
Listen ad-free on Castria