In a powerful new essay published in The Washington Monthly, Barry Lynn, Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute, calls on Democrats to chart a bold new course by recovering the foundational American language of liberty, shared power, and economic democracy — the very principles that once made the Democratic Party a champion of the working class and protector of the republic.  

In “Resurrecting the Rebel Alliance: To End the Age of Trump, Democrats Must Relearn the Language and Levers of Power,” Lynn argues that the rise of Donald Trump is not an aberration but a symptom of a deeper structural failure: the Democratic Party’s decades-long retreat from the politics of liberty and power-sharing. “Trump’s power is built on systems Democrats helped create — concentrated corporate control, corrupted communications platforms, and the abandonment of working-class communities.”  

Drawing on his own working-class upbringing and decades of work as a frontline reporter, Lynn vividly illustrates the human cost of elite technocratic governance that prioritized efficiency and corporate scale over community, democracy, and resilience.  

The solution? A return to the principles that once defined the Democratic Party and made it the party of the working class: shared power, dignity of work, and fierce opposition to economic tyranny. “Democrats must not merely win elections,” Lynn writes. “They must build a new system that ensures liberty and prosperity can never again be threatened by any homegrown autocrat or private king.” 

In the same issue of The Monthly, OMI’s policy director Phil Longman in “The Secret to Reindustrializing America Is Not Tax Cuts and Tariffs. It’s Regulated Competition,” challenges the dominant political narratives about how to rebuild America's industrial strength, arguing that today’s Republican strategies miss a crucial, historically-proven ingredient: market-shaping regulation.  

As the U.S. confronts the urgent need to restructure international production systems to ensure national security and protect against dangerous disruptions to supply, the Trump Administration has settled on a limited set of tools—mainly tariffs and tax incentives. Longman’s deeply researched essay argues that these are insufficient on their own. Along the way he also details the shortfalls of the recent Democratic focus on industrial policy. 

Drawing on economic history and fresh policy analysis, Longman asserts that America’s 20th-century rise as a capitalist superpower was powered not by “deregulated” or “free” markets, but by a robust system of regulated competition—a set of rules that structured industries to ensure innovation, investment, and broad access to economic opportunity.  

Together, these two groundbreaking essays offer an uplifting, achievable vision for the future—one rooted in real history, proven policy, and a deeper belief in democracy. Both also make clear the dangers of any sharp turn back toward neoliberalism and more corporate tyranny, and point instead toward a truly democratic system that expands individual liberty and shares wealth and technological progress. At a time when cynicism is easy and clarity is rare, we hope you’ll find these writings provide both. 

Please take the time to read and share these important pieces: 

📘 Phillip Longman: The Secret to Reindustrializing America 

📗 Barry Lynn: Resurrecting the Rebel Alliance 

We hope you’ll bring these ideas into your conversations. As we know, the best way to beat Trumpism is to build something better.