The laws of hydraulics are broken. Donald Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to second-term lows yet the Democratic party’s have fallen even further. They ought to be soaring. Just a third of Americans approve of them. Much the same can be said of centrist and centre-left parties across the west. The odd one out is Canada. That is because Mark Carney’s Liberal party is the staunchest defender of Canada’s sovereignty — the opposition having been too cosy with Trump. But Canada is the exception that proves the rule. Western liberalism is still on the retreat.
水力学定律被打破了。唐纳德•特朗普的支持率已降至其第二任期的最低点，然而民主党的支持率却跌得更惨。他们的支持率本应飙升才对。如今只有三分之一的美国人认可民主党。西方各国的中间派和中左翼政党也大多如此。唯一的例外是加拿大。这是因为马克•卡尼领导的自由党是加拿大主权最坚定的捍卫者——而反对派则与特朗普走得太近。但加拿大只是个例外，证明了西方自由主义仍在退缩这一普遍规律。