4. Populism’s Impact:
With the rise of populist figures like Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, and Marine Le Pen, it is important to understand their potential impact on the democratic systems they operate in. This section will describe populism’s disregard for democratic processes, attack on checks and balances, and similarities with technocracy and totalitarianism. Also, it will explore the pitfalls of populism as a tool against increasing oligarchy and reveal it as a symptom of struggling liberal democracies.
Negative Impact:
Throughout the essay titled “The People Must Be Extracted from Within the People: Reflections on Populism,” Jan-Werner Müller describes various ways populism acts as an anti-democratic force. One attribute he points to is
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Plato’s description of aristocracy in Republic, Book VIII is strikingly similar to this idea of rule-by-experts. In the book, Plato describes aristocracy as the best form of government, which is led by a wise and reason-lead philosopher-king class (Plato [380 BC]). In theory, having the wisest and most knowledgeable people in power is practical since they are best equipped to make policy decisions. However, it is the technocratic and aristocratic claim to being an all-knowing expert that Müller identifies as a dangerous feature in populists. Müller argues that both technocracy and populism remove the democratic pillars of debate and disagreement from political discourse since there is only one right policy position and one true will from experts and populists (2014). Hence, whether they are right or not, this presents a narrow and undemocratic form of government that can be …show more content…
This is because they see the current political systems as being increasingly oligarchic and plutocratic, especially in America. For instance, The Nation’s William Greider writes, “Elites naturally fear popular uprisings, but rebellion can be good for democracy... A century ago, the original Populists provoked fright and ridicule in establishment circles on a far more threatening scale,” when comparing the populism in the 2016 campaigns with the history of populism in America (2015). As a result, populism is presented as a direct and historically regular response to the corruption of elites. Also, it suggests populists were much more radical and threatening to the status quo in the past than the present. Another writer speaking on populism as a response to elites is The Guardian’s Mike Lofgren. Though he is not a Trump supporter, he says the rise of figures like Trump and Bernie Sanders reveals that the oligarchic status quo is failing the American people and the democracy in the U.S. is in dire straits (2016). This furthers displays a general view that populism is a natural and necessary response to the poorly functioning democratic systems of today. Hence, it is important to explore the claims that Western democracies are functioning like oligarchies and that populism can help restore them. One person who wrote deeply on the presence of
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circlue of our felicities.” (Jefferson, 1801) This idea echoed far beyond it’s time and into the minds and hearts of the Populist’s, and became the center and the driving force of the Progressive era. During the gilded age railroads were being built, Industrialization was rising, the population of United States was increasing dramatically; and corporate businesses were becoming extremely powerful. The gilded age was known for its corruption and business domination, it wasn’t until the Populist movement when people started to fight back and also not until the Progressive movement when people started changing the government system.
The first extension to the base penal populism theory is labelled the “disenchantment with the existing democratic system and aims to provide a link between governmental shifts and how that has affected the growth of penal populism. Neo-liberalism is a political system that had come to power in many developed countries for decades, in the New Zealand context it was not added until 1984. Prior to the change the governmental system was based heavily around the economist John Maynard Keynes and his theories(Lunt et al., 2008a). The system was therefore a heavily restrictive system in political, social and economic spheres, however aimed to provide a better system than the seemingly destructive liberal welfare systems that had been in place before Keynesianism by attempting to ...
In all the history of America one thing has been made clear, historians can’t agree on much. It is valid seeing as none of them can travel back in time to actually experience the important events and even distinguish what has value and what doesn’t. Therefore all historians must make a leap and interpret the facts as best they can. The populist movement does not escape this paradox. Two views are widely accepted yet vastly different, the views of Richard Hofstadter and Lawrence Goodwyn. They disagree on whether populists were “isolated and paranoid bigots” or “sophisticated, empathetic egalitarians”; whether their leaders were “opportunists who victimized them” or “visionary economic theorists who liberated them”; whether their beliefs were rooted in the free silver campaign of the 1890s or the cooperative movement of the 1880s; and finally whether their ideal society was in the “agrarian past” or “the promise of a cooperative future”. They could not agree on anything, over all Richard Hofstadter seems to have a better idea of the truth of populism.
A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato's government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government's primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people who live under it. The feature that both philosophers share is that they attempt to compromise between stability and freedom, and in the process admit that neither can be totally had.
Karp, J. A., and S. A. Banducci. "Party Mobilization and Political Participation in New and Old Democracies." Party Politics 13.2 (2007): 217-34. Web. 26 May 2014.
Populism- The belief in the regular people’s power and that they had the right to control their government rather than a small group of the elite. In Russian it was formed by students who wanted a social revolution based on the communal life of the Russian Peasants.
The traditional responses to the far-right politics that thrive in the world have proven to be largely unsuccessful. Ignoring the problem is not effective either. Therefore, I believe organizations and established political parties – especially on the left - should seek innovative approaches to fight populism. Perhaps, the best way to contain these movements is to maintain strong communication with local communities to get them informed and involved in politics in a positive way. We need better regulations to guarantee that this fast spread of fascist beliefs has limited impact on society.
The farmers feared that Eastern industrialists and bankers were gaining too much influence, power and control over the government. During the “bust” cycle, and times of difficulties, farmers got together, talked about their problems and formed the Populist Party. The Populists were formed because of challenges and difficulties in which they were forced to deal with every day. These challenges included crop failures, falling prices, and the inability to pay loans. The Populists party called for reform by wanting the government to intervene and lessen the impact of economic depressions, regu...
Perhaps, one of the highly debated issues in the electoral procedures of different European nations is about the extreme right. Based on the premise that the nation is the primary unit of social and political organization, extremist nationalism has been revived since the demise of communism. Unlike civic nationalism, which stresses equality and solidarity, the exaggerated, chauvinistic, and aggressive nationalism of the extreme right upholds the significance of the nation and national identity against any other value. Each person is defined by membership in ancient ethnic and cultural groups that are hierarchically arranged according to the "natural order." In the extreme rights’ view, violating this natural order through racial combination leads to corruption in society.
Luce does not see Donald J. Trump or populist nationalists in Europe, like Marine Le Pen, as causes of today’s crisis in democratic liberalism but rather as symptoms. Neither does he see President Trump’s victory last November as an accident. Instead, he argues that Trump’s election is a part of larger trends on the world stage, including the failure of twenty five democracies since the last decade (including three in Europe: Russia, Turkey and Hungary) and growing pressures on the West’s middle classes that are forming nationalism and populist revolts. Luce also argues that economic growth holds democracies together and when it stalls, things can turn bad. Luce thinks that modernity was born in the
Populism is a political ideology centered on the perspective that there is a separation and inherent struggle between the populace [‘the pure people’] and a ruling faction [‘the corrupt elite’] (Mudde 2015: 2). Moreover, populism constructs a particular view on society and how it should be structured—and populist leaders and movement focus only a limited part of the larger political agenda, a demand that many people can identify with, like lower taxes or less immigration (Muller 2014: 3). Populism is pro-democracy, supporting popular sovereignty and majority rule and argues that politics should be an expression of the general will of the people. But, it is anti-liberal democracy, rejecting pluralism and minority rights (Mudde 2015:2) Historically
America prides itself on being a democracy when in fact, these ideals are only a political illusion. The Constitution of the United States deems the nation a republic, thus regarding the people’s desire to be a democracy, yet there is much evidence that suggests America is an oligarchy. While a republic’s citizens elect many representatives to make governmental decisions on their behalf, an oligarchic country is controlled by a small group of elites. The idea of America being an oligarchy assumes that elites have the power in many aspects of government, such as the election process and the Electoral College, in Congress, and federal judges in the Supreme Court. The Constitution creates a political illusion of democracy that gives the impression of the people having power in the many aspects of government when, in reality, the elites dominate the Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary branches of government, creating an oligarchy.
As a result, I think people who realize the error in our democracy and feel like they are not able to do anything to fix our current situation are the citizens who have joined the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump campaigns since they both are against the corruption of the elite. For example, the topic discussed called “manufacture consent” talks about how they are controlling peoples beliefs and attitudes through consumers so that the public is busy consuming because the media is always spitting out new gadgets to purchase and commercials of the newest item to distract us from what is really going on within the government. As Chomsky stated, the “responsible are running society by trying to turn them into this perfect system” by spending all of your hard earned money trying to consume the new products. If we go back to the constitution, James Madison stated, “protect the minority of the opulent against the majority.” Therefore, the founding fathers didn’t want their to be a struggle of power and wealth keeping the minority trapped they believed in mobility and the American
This essay explores pressure groups and their role in democracy and society. It also discusses how pressure groups use the media as a communication strategy to influence.
Balancing and blending democracy and capitalism: the need of the majority out weight the desires of the least.