Helen Thompson is professor of political economy at the University of Cambridge and the author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. In the second part of her interview with Jacobin, she spoke about the causes of the populist moment that made possible the candidacy of Donald Trump and other right-wing populists. These political actors, Thompson argues, were able to take the position of insider-outsiders, attacking the excesses of dynastic political systems from which they themselves had benefited.

Superficially, the victory of figures like Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron suggests that a successful restoration is underway. But looking forward, Thompson sees three key fault lines that could undermine attempts across both sides of the Atlantic to reestablish the pre-populist political order. These are the contradiction between the fossil fuel–dependent development goals of much of the Global South and the West’s plans for a green transition; the rising geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States; and the uneven distribution of the precious minerals required to sustain the new green energy infrastructure.

There is, Thompson claims, no way of addressing these challenges within the parameters of our current global political system. What this means for the future is unclear, but one thing is certain: the much-discussed “end of history” is well and truly over.