The Populism Pandemic

By Shlomo Maital

Source: USA – Takis S. Pappas

       Populism is a virulent, dangerous ideology, a pandemic, on the rise worldwide, that threatens the fabric of democratic society.  And there is no visible vaccine.

       Scholars define it as “an ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups, ‘the pure people’ versus ‘the corrupt elite’ “.  The ‘corrupt elite’ are in general well-educated, supporters of democracy, and liberal, favoring government policies that benefit society. Populism is not programmatic; it is principally anti-elite, against rather than for.

       Trump is a populist leader.  Trump trumpets “them against us”.  By nature populism is divisive, fractional, and virulent.  It is often anti-democratic, as the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol showed.  Trump vows revenge on those who opposed him, and promises to be autocratic “on Day One only” (of his next presidency).  Trump claims to represent the “forgotten men and women of our country”, with echoes of the populism of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency,   1829 – 1837 (one of America’s worst presidents).  Trump says he is victimized, citing as his source….V. Putin.

         I asked ChatGPT to characterize the demographics of Trump supporters.  The result was closely similar to populist supporters.  A significant portion of Trump supporters in 2022 were white, particularly in rural areas and small towns; blue-collar workers, especially in industries like manufacturing and construction; evangelical Christians comprised a notable segment of Trump’s base; older voters, particularly those over 50, were more likely to support Trump. 

          Populist supporters tend to be those who have not proportionately shared in the wealth created by the ‘elites’, who are urban, educated, and liberal. Ironically, they choose to be led by a billionaire, Trump, who apparently gained wealth more by fraud (inflated real estate values) than savvy.

          My country, Israel, is led by a populist leader who chose to severely divide the country (‘them vs. us’), attack democracy – and tempt Israel’s enemies, sensing weakness, to attack.  Israel has come together again, united – but at a terrible cost.

         The world is currently in bad shape, with the despotic anti-American axis of Russia, China and Iran, wreaking havoc on the world order.  When the world itself is ‘them vs. us’, it is tempting to believe that internal politics, too, are ‘them vs. us’.  This is one reason populism is on the rise.   

          It is time for people of reason, wisdom, and good will to get off their hands and take action.  The possibility of a second populist Trump Administration, vastly worse than the first, is too awful to contemplate.