“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell
Another in our occasional series investigating the key questions, conundrums and queries in a maddeningly complex world. This time – what is it with right wing populism?
We hear much these days about ‘populist’ politics. But what does that mean? What characterises it? It’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that the term is almost exclusively linked to right-wing politics. First off let’s deconstruct what right-wing politics is:
Is ‘right wing’ nationalist or capitalist or divisive or ‘othering’ or malevolent or self-serving? Or is it aspirational or inspirational or collectivist or ‘togethering’ or benevolent or all-encompassing?
That, I would suggest, depends on your starting point. If one had, say, come from an affluent background, money available, decent education and/or the correct connections then one might reasonably choose the latter. If, however, you had, say, come from a poor background, no money available, poor or poorly funded education and with few or no connections then one might reasonably choose the former. Which is interesting in this respect: why on earth would someone experiencing the former entertain the latter?
To break this down further: why would the disadvantaged support the advantaged? Or, and to cut to some sort of chase, why would the working/proletariat class support the privileged/controlling class? Yeah… that’s the thing. What we are talking about here is the – to this observer at least – unaccountable support for certain right-wing parties by certain demographics who would seem to have nothing in common with them. Let’s just throw this out there: Nigel Farage, millionaire ex-banker and wannabe Prime Minister and current MP for Clacton and Linda Smith who does the cleaning at The Nag’s Head, Clacton High Street (I made that last bit up for dramatic effect). What is the attraction for our Linda? What? Our Nige is a multimillionaire, our Linda hasn’t got a pot to piss in. Yet she voted for him. Interesting.
We’re pretty lucky here in the UK. We had the Levellers in the English civil war, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Chartists, the Abolitionists, the Jarrow Marchers, the Atlee government post WW II, and the Miners. A progression of progressives. All firmly rooted in what could comfortably classed as disadvantaged. The ordinary people standing up for ordinary people’s ‘rights’ (I say ‘rights’ but they weren’t until they were fought for).
I could go on: a two-day weekend, holiday pay, sick pay, protection from unscrupulous employers, expectation of fair treatment…all obtained by ordinary folk standing up and saying “NO” to those who would oppose them. And who would oppose them? The vested interests, the ‘owners’, the ‘uppers and betters’, the economically powerful, the capitalist/banker/investor cabal and, crucially, the politicians that they control.
And crucial the politicians are. They are the face and the voice and the cosmetics of the cabal. They will schmooze you and cajole you and hustle you into voting for them and if you don’t vote for them then you will be found lacking (in their minds). The politicians will do all they possibly can to garner your vote. Having done so they will settle back and reap the benefits of that (usually to their own reward). No, this isn’t a conspiracy theory (although I guess the tinfoil hat folk will call me out on that). It’s how things happen. These people would have you do their bidding. They would have you jump to the crack of their whip. These people would have you go to war, WAR, on their behalf. They would have you murder fellow human beings because you made the simple (and understandable) mistake of believing that they knew what they were doing. But what are they doing? Taking care of themselves. Themselves. Not every member of parliament or politician in any assembly is tarred with this brush obviously but the crucial point is this: how on earth have we come to the point that people are unable to question their “rulers” without actually questioning them? By which I mean people are presented with soundbites/clips/edited highlights/op-eds many of which are without substance often on ‘social media’ and increasingly on old school media. Does anybody actually know what anybody thinks anymore? And this is where the populism comes in. The person with the most charismatic soundbite wins. The person who has the most savvy unpaid intern who is looking for a way into the business but who is shit hot at their ‘job’ working for them can really achieve wins. And all of the time they will have you believe that they have your interests at heart. Sorry Linda. I would respectfully point out that you got that one wrong but I don’t blame you. Moreover the right, far right and extreme right have sussed this. They are popular. They are populist. “See that brown guy over there? A few years ago I’d have said that he wants your job. Now he wants your benefit payments. Yeah – this is our problem”. This is the sort of level we have sunk to. What I would say is this – be careful out there. There are insidious people about who would seek to claim your approval and, ultimately, your vote. Don’t trust them. Bear this in mind:
Five Key Questions (with thanks to Tony Benn):
What power have you got?
Where did you get it from?
In whose interests do you exercise it?
To whom are you accountable?
How can we get rid of you?
