4 ways populists threaten democracy

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In 1954, Richard Hofstadter, the preeminent American historian of modern conservatism, asked a provocative question about his era’s attack on progressive and leftist ideas, known as McCarthyism: Where did this extremism come from?

He argued in a famous essay that even the prosperous, post-World War II United States was not immune to the radicalism of authoritarian populism. The so-called Red Scare of the 1950s was the old ultra-conservatism and the old isolationism intensified by the extraordinary pressures of the contemporary world.

Seven decades later, the words of the Hofstadters ring true again. Conservative movements have always fought a rearguard action against modernity by falsely claiming to protect society from progressives who trample on traditional values ​​and sneer at the forgotten men and women who embrace them.

Paranoid politics

With so much money and power behind it, this paranoid style of politics with its enemies lists, demonization of opposition leaders and often violent speech has become mainstream.

Conspiracy theories are no longer a stigma that mars those who trade in misleading innuendo. Even mainstream politicians are peddling them.

But is there anything to fear from the heated rhetoric of the paranoid style of politics? Some say these events are cyclical.

During the Hofstadters’ time, after all, conservative American politics had turned to fringe radicalism following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The following year, Lyndon Johnson defeated the right-wing Republican insurgent, Barry Goldwater in one of the largest landslides in US history.

But the crisis we face today is greater in scale and scope. It has been beaten by political leaders who seek to profit from the chaos it causes through social media.

Populism is supposed to bring government closer to the people, but it actually puts the levers of power in the hands of authoritarians. Here are four ways populism has become toxic and poses existential threats to democracy:

1. The shrinking middle ground

Democracy without compromise undermines popular sovereignty by dividing the electorate and eliminating meaningful compromise.

We are now in a world of zero-sum political contests, with a shrinking middle ground. Conservative parties often push for extreme referendums to maintain their grip on a deeply divided electorate.

Election campaigns have become dangerous wedge-issue contests designed to deepen cultural divides using social media.

We saw this with Brexit as Boris Johnson and other populists stoked fears about immigration and Europeans. Donald Trump has done well with attacks on immigrants. Republicans are now doubling down on the abortion issue, even as they face pushback from some state legislatures and governors.

In Canada, Albertas Premier Danielle Smith, whose United Conservative Party was newly elected with a majority, has focused on demonizing her opponents and allegedly engaged in anti-democratic behavior during her months as premier.

Read more: Democracy itself is on the ballot in Alberta’s upcoming election

2. The working class does not benefit

Identity politics does not empower working people because revenge politics does not fix structural problems.

However, conservative parties around the world market themselves as parties of the working class.

Populists recognize that the working class is essential to their success at the national level because of the diplomatic divide that now separates right and left.

There is a strong correlation between not having a college diploma and supporting nationalist conservative movements at election time.

Graduates listen during a convocation ceremony at Simon Fraser University, in Burnaby, BC, in May 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Back then workers recognized education as a path to prosperity. But massive tuition increases in the US, in particular, have betrayed the promise of universal access to a college degree.

Tuition fees are also heading in the wrong direction in the UK, Canada and Australia. Education now reinforces class divisions rather than breaking down barriers to a better life.

Read more: ‘Freedom convoy’ protesters are a textbook case of ‘aggrieved rights’

3. The rich and powerful rule the chaos

Populism is supposed to empower people outside the corridors of power, but talk of revenge against liberal elites normalizes calls for political violence which is always a bad thing.

In a war of all against all, the rich are not the losers. Its ordinary citizens are hardworking.

Furthermore, once the desire for revenge takes hold of the general public, it is almost always led by elites with money and power who benefit financially or politically from the unrest.

Violent protesters loyal to Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 4. Attacks on the rule of law

Authoritarian leaders have gained unprecedented institutional legitimacy by building successful movements based on fantasies of blood and land. The paranoid style of politics has entered a new phase with an all-out attack on the rule of law from within the government.

Populists lie when they argue that they want to empower the rest of us by stripping judges of their authority to administer democracy. They really want to violate the strongest constitutional barriers against authoritarianism.

Look at the situation in Israel, where Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist coalition aims to destroy judicial checks and balances and allow the country’s parliament to overrule its Supreme Court, a move that would ease the prime minister’s legal woes. minister

Netanyahu has been charged with corruption and influence peddling.

Trump’s attempts to undermine the legitimacy of judges are equally self-serving. In his re-run for president, he telegraphed his violent desires, promising amnesty for the January 6 insurrectionists.

Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan outside the parliament in Jerusalem in March 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) The way for populists

The political dial is turning. The defeats of Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro do not represent a complete rejection of their movements.

Despite an indictment for alleged financial crimes and being found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case, Trump is still the frontrunner in 2024.

Read more: Why populism has lasting appeal

We are not relying on an easy institutional fix, such as an electoral grand coalition to push populists off the ballot.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban greets supporters during an election night rally in Budapest, Hungary in April 2022. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Opponents of Hungary’s Viktor Orban formed a united front to challenge him in the country’s elections in 2022. But Orban was re-elected in a vote widely derided as free but unfair.

Oppositional coalitions are an uncertain strategy in most cases, and they don’t really work in a two-party system. Indeed, there is no clear electoral strategy to defeat populism, especially now that the far right has hacked the system.

Red lights flashing

We can no longer view elections as contests between center-right and center-left where undecided voters make the difference between victory and defeat. Nor can we count on the right to retreat from the depths of the culture wars. We cannot say with certainty that populism will retreat in the usual cyclical fashion.

Only decisive rejection can force the right to abandon anger and grievance, but voters have not yet abandoned paranoid populists. It will take a lot of strategic acumen to defeat them. And it will be harder to do as they mix the game with rules designed to disenfranchise young, poor or racialized people.

All citizens can do is offer a consistent, united push against the many big lies told by populists. It’s not enough, but for now, it’s the only way forward.

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