08-27-2019, 05:15 PM
(08-27-2019, 09:42 AM)David Horn Wrote:(08-26-2019, 01:00 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Using the word populism to describe right-wing propaganda and those who fall for it is inappropriate. Populism means restoring power to the people. Right wing "populism" appeals to the fears of the people so that their power can be taken away. It is not populism at all...
You are almost alone in believing that RW populism isn't what it clearly is: populism! In fact, most political scientists who study this believe that the ideological, self-centered version is far and away the most common type, and those characteristics are exactly what attracts believers to tyrants and autocrats of all stripes.
Populism is, by definition, emotional and anti-intellectual. People functioning on emotion tend to be lead by the strong emotions: hate and fear. Love and the other softer emotions don't have the impact, and tend to need intellectual bolstering to be viable.
Do we really have any left-wing populism in America?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.