Even thoughtful Republicans are worried about Democrats’ inability to stand up to Trump, particularly given the risk his economic strategies could push the country into recession. At a recent high-profile Yale business school gathering of chief executives, there was huge disgruntlement about his plans and deep concern for America’s economic future. 

While some, like Sanders, Murphy and Senator Elizabeth Warren, want to go down the populist route, the party leadership and the majority of the Democratic donor base seem to want to go back to some version of Obama-Clinton-era neoliberalism. This focused on identity rather than class, pushed free trade for its own sake and focused not on industrial strategy (and with it the interests of workers) but on making government itself more efficient.

"They argue that Democrats need to get out of their own way and make it easier for government to do things."

There’s much to be said for this advice, but it also skates over what I believe to be the key economic dysfunction in the US economy today: power asymmetry. The private sector, and particularly a handful of big companies, have too much money and power — something embodied by Elon Musk’s unprecedented proximity to Trump and the billionaire-filled seats at the president’s inauguration — while workers have far too little.

As long as this electoral structure is in place, and if you believe that unfettered markets fail to provide key public goods, then you have to think genuine economic populism — not the fake Maga kind — will be the winning formula for the Democrats. But that means rich liberals must think beyond their own interests.