It’s time to defeat the demagogues of populist politics, writes Chris Maxon.
Human Rights Watch has warned the world that “We are on the edge of darkness”, as the global rise of populism threatens liberal democracy as we know it. As they claim to be legitimate spokespersons of “the people”, this new generation of demagogues treats rights as an impediment to their conception of the majority will.
They believe democratic principles are only an impediment to defending the people from perceived threats and evils. Rather than accept that the bill of rights protects everyone, they encourage people to adopt the dangerous credence that they will never need their rights against an overreaching government claiming to act in their name.
The appeal of these populists has grown with mounting public discontent over the status quo. In the West and in South Africa, many people feel left behind by either technological change, or youth unemployment, or the global economy, or growing inequality. The rise of terrorism sows apprehension and fear. Some are uneasy with societies that are more ethnically, religiously, and racially diverse. There is an increasing sense that governments and the elite ignore public concerns.
In this cauldron of discontent, a certain breed of politician is flourishing by portraying rights as protecting only the beneficiaries of patronage or the corrupt elite at the expense of the safety, economic welfare, and social preferences of the presumed poor majority. They scapegoat the landless, those living in informal settlements and workers. In their rhetoric, truth is a frequent casualty. Community uprisings, xenophobia, racism, and misogyny are on the rise.
Let’s take, for an example, Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign which is seen by many as a vivid illustration of the politics of intolerance. Sometimes overtly, sometimes through code and indirection, he breached basic principles of dignity and equality. He stereotyped migrants, vilified refugees, attacked a judge for his Mexican ancestry, mocked a journalist with disabilities, dismissed multiple allegations of sexual assault, and pledged to roll back women’s ability to control their own fertility.
We see a similar scapegoating of asylum-seekers, immigrant communities, and Muslims in Europe. Leading the charge have been Marine Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, but there are echoes of these arguments of intolerance in the Brexit campaign, the rhetoric of Viktor Orban in Hungary and Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland, and far-right parties from Germany to Greece.
Throughout the European continent, officials and politicians hark back to distant, even fanciful, times of perceived national ethnic purity, despite established immigrant communities whose integration as productive members of society is undermined by this hostility.
In South Africa, we have come to be entertained by this new trend, that of disrupting the business of legislatures be it the national parliament or provincial legislatures. It seems, though, that little was gained (except for media mention) either in Gauteng or the Western Cape due to the rather amateurish disruptions of both state of the province addresses recently.
In various legislatures and councils, the Speakers have on numerous occasions been compelled to suspend the proceedings. In the Western Cape Helen Zille had to promptly deliver her state of the province address before the media. In Gauteng, Premier David Makhura was also interrupted several times by unruly Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members.
If we choose to forget the demagogues of yesteryear it shall be at our own peril – the fascists, dictators and their ilk that claimed privileged insight into the majority’s interest but ended up crushing the individual.
The rising tide of populism in the name of a perceived majority parallels a new infatuation with strongman rule. The populist-fuelled passions of the moment tend to obscure the longer-term dangers to a society of strongman rule.
President Vladimir Putin, for instance, has presided over a weakening Russian economy plagued by massive crony corruption. Fearing popular discontent, he has introduced draconian restrictions on assembly and expression, imposed unprecedented sanctions for online dissent, and crippled civil society groups while embarking on various military adventures to distract from dwindling economic prospects at home.
Military action in Ukraine prompted Western sanctions that only deepened Russia’s economic decline.
The danger of this populist politics spectrum is stimulation of strongman politics and dictatorial tendencies at an alarming rate.
The disconcerting number of African leaders refusing to transfer power peacefully (through the so-called constitutional coup) has become common occurrence. Others have launched violent crackdowns to suppress opposition and public protest over flawed or unfair elections. In South Africa we are beginning to see traits of strongman politics in intraparty contests for leadership positions. Principles tend to be the first victim as they are forgotten or altered to put emphasis on the person at the expense of goals that must be achieved.
We must be aware that demagogues strive in sophistry. They build popular support by spinning false explanations and cheap solutions to genuine ills. There is a tragic irony in all this: populism in power commits the very political sins of which it accuses elites: excluding citizens and usurping the state. Lies do not become truth just because they are propagated by an army of internet trolls or a legion of partisans.
What are the risks? The risk of the rise populism is stalemate and a power vacuum. People often think that populism is about protest and mobilisation – with ‘things kicking off’. That’s in part true, but the real risk is the uncertainty that these forces create, and their impact on governments and on states. What markets and investors should worry about is things grinding to a halt.
This halt can be seen in France where they are becoming unable to act in Europe, unable to shoulder responsibilities as an economic, political and military power because its mainstream politicians are held to ransom by Marine Le Pen and her potential voters. Ditto for Cameron whose referendum on Brexit – almost regardless of the outcome – is a massive own goal that resulted from all sorts of populist pressures including the threat of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). This is a huge power vacuum at the heart of Europe.
The other main consequence in geo-political terms is that populist politics end up emboldening rogue actors who can spot an opportunity to act, to “get away with” poor behaviour because of the low probability of retaliation.
This means that catastrophic events (terrorist attacks, or belligerent behaviour in military and trade terms for instance) are a lot more likely because the fundamental balance of power has been upset. That’s what we all need to worry about too, because, aside from the human and political toll, this is when markets around the world react.
So how should we react to the current wave of populism in the West and in Africa?
To begin with, we must admit that populism is often fuelled by legitimate dissatisfaction with the status quo. Citizens in many countries have good reason to be furious with their political and economic leaders. When Bernie Sanders shouts that the economic system is rigged and Trump thunders against an out-of-touch political class, they have a point.
We should stop the inflationary use of the term “populism”. There is no reason to put the EFF, for an example, into the same category as Trump, Farage and Erdogan – only the latter group claims exclusively to represent the one authentic people, whereas the former are just more or less plausible attempts to reinvent social democracy.
Second, we should call populists for what they are: a threat to democracy and not a useful corrective for too much elite power, as they too often naively assume. This doesn’t mean that we should avoid engaging them politically: talking with populists is not the same as talking like populists. Otherwise, one ends up in a paradoxical situation: because populists exclude, we exclude them; because they demonise their opponents, we demonise them. Instead, we should concede that some of their complaints may have been justified (the land issue in South Africa remains relevant and emotive and not a figment of the populist imagination).
Finally, we have to face up to a genuine conflict that characterises our time (which is hardly about “elites versus the people”). We need to look deep into the populists’ slogans and rhetoric to expose the truth behind them. For an example; Donald trump’s call for “Making America Great Again” can actually turn out to mean: “Make sure white males continue to rule”.
It is time to put an end to this nonsense. The rise of this manipulative, dishonest, divisive politics not only degrades the countries in which it flourishes but history shows us where it ultimately leads. As these voices of intolerance prevail, we all risk entering a dark era.
The result is a world increasingly beset by the politics of fear and loathing; commentators have grown fond of quoting the line from WB Yeats’s poem The Second Coming, written after the First World War: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”. But we should also keep in mind lines later in the verse: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. It is time to prove Yeats wrong.
* Maxon is from the Department of Health and writes in his personal capacity
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Daily News