The rise of the populist variant in the West and the rapid ascent of China in the East have prompted a rethinking of how democratic systems work - or don't. The creation of new classes of winners and losers as a consequence of globalisation and digital capitalism is also challenging how we think about the social contract and how wealth is shared.

The appearance of populism as an enduring force across the West is not the cause of the present crisis of governance, but a symptom of the decay of democratic institutions captured by the organised interests of an insider establishment that has failed to address these issues.