Populism in Politics

Texts of General Interest (link)

Dr. James Manos (MD)

January 1, 2018

Populism in politics as an upward trend  

Nowadays, worldwide populism in politics is experiencing an upward trend, regardless of its deleterious effects on the countries per se and their relationship with other countries. During the last few years, populism has been gaining ground over political parties. The most worrying thing is that it increases the chances of politicians gaining power, even in a coalition scheme, as voters are keener on listening to their attractive doctrines.

Populism is not a contemporary phenomenon, but historically, it has always existed, even in ancient times when the Romans fed the crowd with ‘bread and spectacle’ at the arena. Populism continued throughout the ages, with the most striking example of the national socialism of Hitler, who invested in the patriotism of the German people, flattering them with the idea of an Aryan race that was superior to the others. However, populism is a characteristic of far-right political parties and may involve any party irrespective of its position on the political spectrum. Thus, even right-wing parties may behave with populism.

Recently, populism emerged in the US after the election of Donald Trump in 2016 that used derogatory rhetoric against other parties and sensitive groups, including women, to come to power. After Trump’s election, populism spread like a plague worldwide.

For instance, in the recent presidential elections in France in 2017, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen was on the verge of being elected, while the same year, the right-wing populist party of the AfD in Germany succeeded in entering the Parliament at the national elections. Other examples in 2017 include the populist governments in Poland that undermined the rights of the press, as well as the far-right party in Hungary that unacceptably treated migrants.   

Populism originates from the lack of a broad education of the masses, which are more prone to demagoguery. This knowledge is not achieved with an accumulation of degrees but begins from primary school, and it includes principles and virtues that render people resistant to the lure of populism. It is not a coincidence that the education system has focused on producing overspecialized scientists worldwide, losing its academic role.

Secondly, as mentioned above, populism appeals to the lower instincts of the masses that, for instance, may feel better when flattered by saying that they are the ‘chosen’ nation that is ‘indigenous’ and should play a primary role in the international game of chess.

Another method that populism uses is to remove personal responsibility for things and transfer it to groups such as the Jews or speculators such as George Soros, or bankers such as the Rothschilds or the Rockefellers, meaning that dark powers control everything and we cannot change things as we are all manipulated like puppets. But, still, the populists will supposedly come to save us from these dark powers. So, removing our responsibility and casting it elsewhere is a characteristic of populism.  

Populism is a trend that has disastrous effects on democracy. It makes people less responsible and keener to be ruled by dictators who – in the name of populism – may undermine democracy and its institutions.     Moreover, it poisons the relationship with other countries as these should be based on mutual trust and compromise rather than imposing their view.

Finally, populism is a drawback even for economies. For instance, in Greece, the populist leader of the socialist party who ruled the country during the 1980s hired many people as civil servants to earn votes to remain in power. He did this not minding that the nation would inevitably become bankrupt from this hydrocephalic public sector, which eventually occurred in 2010. The same has happened over the last decades in Venezuela, where populism led this nation to extreme poverty despite the oil reserves. 

Everything considered, populism as a trend has recently re-emerged and will persist. It involves the whole political spectrum, and its effects are catastrophic for the state and its relationship with other countries. Populism is based on the broader educational deficit and the lower instincts of the people who enjoy being flattered and have their personal responsibility for things removed. Thus, the most important way to fight populism is a broader education focusing on ideals and virtues to realize that populism is an idea that may be detrimental to democracy.

Thanks for reading!