Right populism versus left populism

A longish read about (1) the differences between right populism and left populism and (2) the disturbing realization that left populism is in most respects similar to its right-wing populist cousin.

Here’s a little quiz: Pick a right populist party and a left populist party of your choice and try to compare them in your mind. Now ask yourself: Are those parties most different because of their right-left distinction or are they most similar because of their populism? For, if they are most different, their “populism” becomes virtually irrelevant and we should center on the time-honored ideological differences between right and left parties. We should also expect such ideologically opposite parties to be politically incompatible. But if the parties you have chosen are deemed to have more similarities than differences, we should disregard ideology and focus instead on what is “populist” about them. We may then discover that their populism is the one element that glues them together. Since the issue here is more than a mere logical quandary, it is worth pursuing it further. Continue reading “Right populism versus left populism”

Published under the title “Dealing with modern illiberal democracies: From vintage electoral autocracy to today’s jumble of populism with nativism” in Arne Muis and Lars van Troost (eds), Will Human Rights Survive Illiberal Democracy? (Amsterdam: Amnesty International Strategic Studies, 2018), pp. 25-30.

“In the beginning was the Word,” proclaims the Gospel of John, and we should probably take that statement more seriously than we often do. Especially when the talk is about nothing less than the future of contemporary liberal democracy. For, if you really agree with me that liberal democratic politics is currently at risk, and must be rescued, we have first to agree on the nature of the threat to our democracies before we are in a position to propose solutions. As is often the case, then, we must begin by revisiting some of the wisdom received at more politically innocent times.

Continue reading “What did Fareed Zakaria have in mind when he wrote about “illiberal democracies,” and why “his” cases aren’t similar to Orbán’s populist democracy?”