While appropriately castigating the demagogues of 20th-century America, Michael Bloomberg (“Defeat the demagogues,’’ Opinion, May 4) asserts a specious symmetry of populism on the right and left. While populists on both sides are frustrated with governments — federal and state — that are unresponsive to their needs, equating Donald Trump’s nativism with Bernie Sanders’ democratic socialism ignores real differences. Scapegoating a class of people — illegal immigrants — is poisonous, divisive and ultimately unproductive, but challenging an economic philosophy — neoliberalism — which has benefited only the wealthy is the first step toward the creation of governments that work for all. Building a wall on our southern border is no solution to the problems we face, but a more progressive tax code, living wages for all who are willing to work and, yes, health care for all and free college tuition (provided by most developed nations) are economically feasible and would ameliorate the disaffection of populists on both wings.

Derek Stolp

Sandwich