Strategies For Resisting Right-Wing Populism

Social Europe is a vibrant publisher of electrical flow progressive thought inwards Europe. Readers tin detect data, opinion, in additi...

Social Europe is a vibrant publisher of electrical flow progressive thought inwards Europe. Readers tin detect data, opinion, in addition to policy analysis on the site, highly relevant to the meat priorities of progressives across the continent in addition to United Kingdom -- social opportunity, inequalities, work, the threat of right-wing populism, the refugee crisis, in addition to the hereafter of the European Union. Here is the Twitter feed for Social Europe (link).

SE too publishes a bi-annual magazine called the Social Europe Journal. The most recent number is focused on a recurring topic inwards , the menace posed past times the rising of extreme-right populism. The volume is available every bit a digital volume nether the title, Understanding the Populist Revolt, edited past times Henning Meyer.

Several chapters of Understanding the Populist Revolt are especially interesting, including Bo Rothstein's contribution, "Why has the white working cast abandoned the left?". Rothstein's championship poses a critical question, which Rothstein unpacks inwards these terms:

Maybe the most surprising political evolution during this decade is why increased inequality inwards almost all capitalist marketplace societies has non resulted inwards to a greater extent than votes for left parties. Especially telling is the political success of Donald Trump in addition to why such a large run of the American working cast voted for him. In a province alongside staggering in addition to increasing economical inequality, why would people who volition undoubtedly lose economically from his policies back upwards him? Why did his anti-government policies such every bit cutting taxes for the super-rich in addition to slashing the newly established wellness attention insurance organization succeed to such a large extent? Moreover, why were these policies especially effective inwards securing votes from the white working class? 

One respond may hold upwards inwards an number oftentimes neglected past times the left, namely how people perceive the lineament of their regime institutions. The thought behind this “quality of government” approach is that when people select a stand upwards on what policies they are going to support, they create non solely evaluate the policy every bit such. In addition, they too select into consideration the lineament of the regime institutions that are going to hold upwards responsible for its implementation.

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Surveys exhibit that the ground for Trump’s unexpected victory was his powerfulness to learn massive back upwards from what has historically been a stronghold for the Democratic Party, namely low-educated white working cast voters. However, every bit has of late been pointed out by, amidst others, Paul Krugman, this is a grouping probable to hold upwards the large losers from the policies Trump said he volition launch. Many would say that race in addition to immigration determined this election, but this tin solely hold upwards a run of the floor because inwards many of the areas where Trump got most of the white working cast votes in that location are few immigrants in addition to no pregnant multi-ethnic population. (Kindle Locations 461-469)

This is indeed a key inquiry for politicians in addition to activists inwards the USA to consider. However, Rothstein's respond is a fairly narrow one; he argues that a widespread belief well-nigh corruption in addition to favoritism inwards Democratic elites is a primary element leading to the disaffection of the white working cast inwards the US. This seems to hold upwards solely a secondary factor, however.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 to a greater extent than comprehensive endeavor at an respond to the question, why is populism on the rise?, is suggested inwards the final chapter of the volume inwards an interview alongside Jurgen Habermas. Habermas calls out several factors inwards the past times twenty-five years that possess got led to a rising appeal of right-wing populism amidst large segments of the populations of democratic countries inwards Europe in addition to the United States. First amidst these factors is the steep in addition to continuing increment inwards inequalities that neoliberal economies brought well-nigh since 1989. He believes that this tendency could solely hold upwards offset past times an active province policy of social welfare -- the policies of social republic -- in addition to that advanced capitalist democracies possess got retreated from such policies.

Second, he highlights the deliberate politics in addition to rhetoric of the right inwards both Europe in addition to the USA inwards pursuing a politics of sectionalization in addition to resentment. People suffer; in addition to politicians aim their resentment at vulnerable others.

Third, Habermas emphasizes the fact that neoliberal globalization has non delivered on the promises made on its behalf inwards the 1970s, that globalization volition meliorate everyone's touchstone of living. In fact, he argues that globalization has led to stagnation of living standards inwards many countries in addition to has led to an overall pass upwards of the importance of the western capitalist economies inside the global organization overall. This tendency inwards plow has given novel release energy to the nationalistic forces underlying right-wing populism.

So what advice does Habermas offering to the progressive parties inwards western democracies? He argues that the progressive left needs to aspect upwards the source of the job -- the increasing inequalities that be both nationally in addition to internationally. Moreover, he argues that this volition require substantial international cooperation:

The inquiry is why left-wing parties create non become on the offensive against social inequality past times embarking upon a co-ordinated in addition to cross-border taming of unregulated markets. As a sensible option – every bit much to the condition quo of feral fiscal capitalism every bit to the agenda for a völkisch or left-nationalist retreat into the supposed sovereignty of long-since hollowed-out acre states – I would propose in that location is solely a supranational cast of co-operation that pursues the finish of shaping a socially acceptable political reconfiguration of economical globalisation. (Kindle Locations 566-569)

In Habermas's judgment, the fundamental impetus to right-wing populism was the cooptation of "social-democrat" parties similar the Democratic Party inwards the USA in addition to the Labour Party inwards United Kingdom past times the siren vocal of neoliberalism:

Since Clinton, Blair in addition to Schröder social democrats possess got swung over to the prevailing neoliberal job inwards economical policies because that was or seemed to hold upwards promising inwards the political sense: inwards the “battle for the middle ground” these political parties thought they could win majorities solely past times adopting the neoliberal course of teaching of action. This meant taking on board toleration of long-standing in addition to growing social inequalities. Meantime, this cost – the economical in addition to socio-cultural “hanging out to dry” of ever-greater parts of the public – has clearly risen then high that the reaction to it has gone over to the right. (Kindle Locations 573-578)

So what is the path to broad back upwards for the progressive left? It is to hold upwards progressive -- to aspect upwards the source create of the economical stagnation of the working cast people whose lives are increasingly precarious in addition to whose touchstone of living has non advanced materially inwards twenty-five years.

But this requires existence willing to opened upwards up a completely unlike front end inwards domestic politics in addition to doing then past times making the above-mentioned job the key betoken at issue: How create nosotros find the political first vis-à-vis the destructive forces of unbridled capitalist globalisation? Instead, the political scene is predominantly gray on grey, where, for example, the left-wing pro-globalisation agenda of giving a political shape to a global social club growing together economically in addition to digitally tin no longer hold upwards distinguished from the neoliberal agenda of political abdication to the blackmailing powerfulness of the banks in addition to of the unregulated markets. (Kindle Locations 590-595)

So the distance betwixt Rothstein in addition to Habermas is substantial: Rothstein ultimately chalks upwards the Trump victory to a successful marketing travail ("crooked Hillary"), whereas Habermas believes that real large forces inside the neoliberal fiscal in addition to merchandise regimes of the past times twenty-five years possess got inwards fact worked to the disadvantage of the real people needed for achieving a bulk for progressive politics.

I detect it interesting that Habermas does non address the themes of radical nationalism, xenophobia, racism, in addition to anti-Semitism that are raised past times populist parties inwards many European countries in addition to the United States. In his telling of the story, it is an number of interests in addition to structural advantages in addition to disadvantages for diverse groups. By implication, the racism of the far right volition subside if the US Democratic Party or progressive parties inwards France, Germany, or the Netherlands succeed inwards redefining the social contract inwards a way that is to a greater extent than favorable for the less advantaged citizens inwards their societies. Interestingly, this is exactly the declaration constructed past times Manuel Muñiz in his contribution to the volume, "Populism in addition to the involve for a novel social contract." Here are Muñiz's central ideas:

The decoupling of productivity in addition to reward is the explanation behind the structural stagnation of salaries of the middle cast in addition to the increment inwards inequality inside our societies. Wealth is existence concentrated inwards the hands of those that invest inwards in addition to ain the robots in addition to algorithms spell most of those living off labour reward are struggling. The McKinsey Global Institute of late reported that over 80% of US households had seen their income stagnate or pass upwards inwards the menstruation 2009-2016. (Kindle Locations 224-227)

The people most negatively affected past times these trends are the abandoned of our time, the ignored, in addition to are get-go to constitute a novel political class. The embodiment of this novel cast is non but the unemployed but too the underemployed in addition to the working wretched – people who possess got seen economical chance escape from them over the in conclusion few decades. (Kindle Locations 230-232)

And hither is a preliminary description of the novel social contract he believes nosotros volition need:

The appearance in addition to pattern of the novel social contract that nosotros involve is solely straightaway starting to hold upwards discussed. What is clear, however, is that it volition require a large alter inwards the way the province procures its income, perhaps through a reinvigorated industrial policy, large public enterprise majuscule investments in addition to others. In essence, if wealth is concentrated inwards majuscule some cast of democratisation of majuscule asset volition hold upwards required. On the spending side, changes volition too hold upwards required. This mightiness adopt the cast of negative income taxes, the establishment of a universal basic income, or the launch of public occupation schemes. (Kindle Locations 246-250)

So in that location seems to hold upwards a grade of consensus amidst these contributors to Social Europe: the best strategy for fighting radical right-wing populism, in addition to the tendencies towards racism in addition to authoritarianism that it brings alongside it, is to re-establish the robust price of social democracy that possess got the potential to offset the destructive structural dynamics of contemporary neoliberal capitalism. This way a to a greater extent than active state; to a greater extent than redistribution; to a greater extent than rule of the fiscal manufacture in addition to other sectors; in addition to a to a greater extent than flat playing champaign for all citizens inwards our democracies. And these are just the political values that Tea Party conservativism, Trumpism, in addition to mainstream Republicans concur about; their rhetoric has demonized just these kinds of policies for decades. What would it select for the parties of the left to encompass the pro-working cast policies described here? And is the underlying suspicion voiced past times Rothstein to a higher house truly correct: that the Democratic Party is then beholden to large corporate interests that it is incapable of adopting these kinds of platforms?