ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that modernity itself must be subdivided into waves or phases along a temporal, rather than a geographical, continuum. Cities and regions that were epicenters of earlier phases of modernity “reinvent themselves” and find niches in the most modern sectors of the global economy: San Francisco, Barcelona, and Shanghai serve as examples. The tenor of the opposition to third wave modernity is well summed up in Richard Hofstadter’s phrase, “the paranoid style in American politics.” Contemporary right-wing populists claim that earlier forms of modernity can be revived if the “correct” policies are pursued. Juan Domingo Peron’s populist economic program was geared to subsidizing local manufactures, with the ultimate aim of weaning the country off imported finished goods from Europe and the United States. There is thus a powerful economic case to be made against populism. Countries—or even regions and cities—that have tried some or all of its signature policies have not remained prosperous and successful.
