~a column by Colleen O’Brien
Traditional democrats (that’s lowercase democrats – citizens of democracies, not the American political party) who live a relatively comfortable life don’t understand the appeal of populism.
Populism is a form of salvation to people who don’t understand why they aren’t as comfortable as the next guy. Or who begrudge the elite (which means different things to different populists, some of them being elites themselves). Or who are tired of local and federal institutions that they believe take advantage of them, forget them, or punish them with regulations.
Democracies are difficult to keep alive and well because they demand a huge amount of study of all issues, and not just by elected officials but by citizens. There is a lot of time invested in considering problems from dozens of viewpoints. And in the end, there is compromise, a hateful word to plenty of people. All of these are things that most of us humans after a while are just not willing to do, or we want others to do them, or we conveniently forget that they need to be done – even if we know these behaviors keep a democracy from deteriorating.
Most of us who are relatively comfortable are oblivious to hardship surrounding us but not touching us; the other half are tired of hardship whether it’s low-paying jobs or taxes of any kind (the uber rich complain about taxes more than anybody, and they also get more tax breaks).
It is at this point that a guy (usually it’s a guy) comes along and talks plain. People like it when he says “damn” or other expletives just like they do. He harangues the “haves” and promises great things to the “have-nots.” He gets elected.
To the dismay of the “elites,” the “comfortable,” the democratically complacent, their country is now led by “the wrong type.”
This newly elected fellow is a populist, and his brand of leadership is populism. It has been making inroads since WWII, when democracy made the world safe from fascists, demagogues, strongmen, oligarchs and plutocrats.
Modern populism is run by fascists, demagogues, strongmen, oligarchs, plutocrats and communists. So, I don’t know why people like populism so much when democracy is the only form of government that truly – in fact – is the form of government that has been devised for the people.
The problem is that the people have to be involved fully for it not to turn into one of those other forms of governments.
Dissatisfaction of half a country’s population is going to result in some kind of change. In this country the change was soft – no guns, no revolution, just a democratic election where we all, including the fellow who ran, were shocked when he won: the populist was elected by a loose thread – the unraveling of a democracy.
Those of us who were laissez-faire citizens of the democracy, although stunned, continued with hope that all would turn out okay, our democracy being so strong and reliable. Those who voted for the populist were over-the-moon, believing they were now on top. Or at least had a foothold on the ladder because of their champion.
Then two situations came come along that revealed the underbelly of populism. The rise of citizen protests against policemen murdering Blacks and a lethal pandemic that also kills.
The two horrors were allowed to divide the country. And here we are, still watching Black people being shot to death, and after seven or eight months of a virus ranging freely, more than 209,000 are dead from it.
The divide, at least in our country, took on drastic and visible lines of demarcation. Law and order came to mean beat down the protestors and get them off the streets. The democracy side of the drama came alive with grandmas protecting the protestors from local police, state guards, ICE cops, federal guns and possies of populist right wingers who showed up w/ rifles.
And here we are four long populist years later, coming up on another election; this time knowing what the result will be: an increasing devolution of a government trying in fits and starts to run of, by, and for the people. It is on its way to what the voters thought was escape but is in reality a reality show of being led by no one who cares about them, their jobs, education or healthcare. And once the democracy withers away in the back pocket of populism, there will be no backup from nearly 250 years of a democracy striving for social justice.
A plutocracy or oligarchy is not interested in promoting social justice for the lowly. It means government run by charisma, by friends of the charismatic, by people of wealth to whom money means more than freedom of speech, by those who disdain poor people because they don’t make money. It means no more institutions that help spread the wealth – public schooling, not-for-profit hospitals, the roads in front of one’s house, libraries, scientific weather reports….
Populism is a political approach that appeals to people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. It’s a hoodwink.
If democracy dies because of a lack of the constant attention it needs, and if populism survives as a smokescreen for oligarchs, our future looks bleak. Capitalism without socialism is a rich-man’s world. Right now, we operate under both these economic systems; and it works when the word socialism isn’t constantly misrepresented. Under populism, only capitalism will flourish. Think we’re bad off now?
Surely, we can come to agreement before we find ourselves looking across a wider divide than we’re already living – among friends, within families, at war against the simple thoughtfulness of wearing a face mask.
We’re all wondering which coin is going to land face up.
