In Minneapolis, the limits of contemporary liberalism are on full display.

The mayor loudly condemns Donald Trump and touts her progressive credentials, then jets to Los Angeles for a country club fundraiser. City leaders wring their hands over high-profile police killings, but, coffers brimming with developer money, have no reforms to offer save for cosmetic tweaks. Elected officials trumpet their commitment to “inclusivity,” even as a quarter of residents are mired in poverty, the majority of them people of color.

The sole exceptions to symbolic displays of progressiveness occur when labor and left groups organize en masse and mount successful pressure campaigns. Only after months of sustained protest, a mass signature drive, an attempted change to the city charter, packed city council meetings, an adverse court ruling, and still more raucous meetings — only then did the Minneapolis City Council ratify a minimum-wage hike to fifteen dollars an hour.