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Thomas Jefferson regarded a sense of community as the greatest public good — but was highly distrustful of public opinion

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It is political parties that are polarising, not citizens

France will hold elections soon. And like elsewhere in Europe, polarisation seems rife.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the populist tribune of the France's left-wing bloc Nupes, whips up supporters with radical slogans like "Macron Has No Mandate!" and "Reject Half Measures!"

He preaches revolution, while in fact Nupes has many reasonable demands that echo the programme of the moderate, social-democratic Parti Socialiste of which Méle...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This column is adapted from a recent piece in De Standaard.

Thomas Jefferson regarded a sense of community as the greatest public good — but was highly distrustful of public opinion

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Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, Foreign Policy and De Standaard. This column is adapted from a recent piece in De Standaard.

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