Are you a populist?

[abradley]

How many of us can honestly say no?

"
Why I Am Not a Populist
by Daniel Pipes
Washington Times
November 26, 2019

http://www.danielpipes.org/19157/why-i-am-not-a-populist

[W.T. title: "Blame the left for the Soviet Union, China and a ruined Europe." Slight other differences as well.]

Populism has made great strides in the West. But it is misguided, and I greatly hope it fails.

There's no standard definition for populism but it always includes some degree of denigrating the rich and powerful while praising the virtuous and innocent common folk. Populists ascribe obscene self-serving motives to the greedy, privileged, and exploitative elite. Were only the country class to mobilize, they argue, it could expel the ruling class, replace it, and claim its righteous share.

Populism has left and right versions, led in the United States by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Leftists usually focus on money (Occupy Wall Street's 1%, Sanders' billionaires), while Rightists attack insider influence (the Tea Party's Swamp, Steve Bannon's Deep State). Very occasionally, they agree on a common enemy, such as Globalists.


Trump and Sanders are America's leading populists, representing the right and left versions.

Populism need not rely on conspiracy theories, but it often does, as these neatly explain how so tiny a minority can enjoy such wealth and influence. Likewise, it need not turn to antisemitism, but the temptation permanently exists to single out Jews as rich, connected, or both.

I am not a populist. I do not blame the rich or bureaucrats for our problems; rather, I blame the Left.

Continued "

Looking back on my life I've had moments of both left and right populism, now I expect I am a rightie.

 

[Drewcifer]

Antipopulism is the rallying cry of the professional/managerial class, who's politics drove the west's economy off the cliff in 2007. We shouldn't listen to those people anymore. They are are responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the impoverishment of the working class and the diminished prospects of an entire generation of young. Populism is merely the logical reaction to an incompetent establishment.

 

[Tee Kay]

If being a populist means expecting those with more wealth and power than most ordinary people to take responsibility for a bigger share of society's failures as well as successes and, you know, actually lead, then yes I suppose I'm a populist.

If they don't like being "blamed" for society's problems they could always give up all that wealth and power and do soul-crushing wage labour like the rest of us.

 

[Gorbles]

I came to post, only to find my points are the first two replies here. Fantastic

 

[Arwon]

This appears to be trying to use "both sides" rubbish to link very serious concerns with the shape of capitalism (labour rights, wage stagnation, rising income inequality, ecological crisis, health and housing insecurity, regressive taxation burdens, etc) with the fever dreams and imaginary enemies of the far right, perhaps to discredit the former.

 

[luiz]

I will say this: the "managerial / capitalist" class in the West in general and the US in particular has failed spectacularly at defending liberal capitalism. I assume they took for granted that no major changes were possible, which is incredibly short-sighted, and led to a surreal situation in the US where billionaires like Buffet and Zuckerberg and Co compete with each other on who shows off more how "progressive" and "ciritc of the system" they are.

I mean, I known it's not a very popular opinion here on the CFC Soviet, but there's a lot to be said for liberal capitalism. We're not exactly starving in the West; there is a jobs boom in the US, UK, Germany, and many other advanced economies, and compensation is growing for many years (even if at a slower pace than we would hope). There are also many problems, which are abundantly pointed out 24/7 by the media, left-wing talking heads and even the "managerial / capitalist" class as mentioned before. If nobody makes the case for our economic system, even admitting the obvious fact that there are many problems, then it's no surprise that people will swing towards anti-system candidates.

So I admit I have a bit of a schadenfreude wish to see Sanders elected and screw these "progressive billionaires" that never bothered defending the system that so vastly rewarded them. I hope Buffet gets taxed to oblivion, just like he has been asking for decades (while always believing it would never happen).