The Left’s Embrace of Minority Rule

The National Affairs Podcast

The left in America has long accused the right of advancing minority rule and rejecting the principles of democracy. Though there is some truth to that charge, it applies as much to the left itself as it does to the right. A closer look at housing and infrastructure regulations, public-employee unions, professional licensing, and the governance of higher education suggests that “minoritarianism” pervades our politics.

Guest Steve Teles joins us to discuss the bipartisan penchant for minority rule and how lawmakers might restore a more majoritarian, democratic politics.

Steve Teles is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center. He’s the author of several books about topics such as economic inequality, welfare, and the conservative legal movement.

This podcast discusses themes from Steve’s essay in the Spring 2025 issue of National Affairs, “Minoritarianism Is Everywhere.”

Books and Essays Mentioned:

-Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis

-Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools

-“The Strength of a Weak State: The Rights Revolution and the Rise of Human Resources Management Divisions”

-“Professionalization 2.0: The Case for Plural Professionalization in Education”

-“Beyond Academic Sectarianism”

-In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us

-“The Rise of the Abundance Faction”

-“The Future Is Faction”