by system
failure
It is quite
evident that the far-right in the West managed to gain significant
power, not only because it grabbed the role of the central
anti-establishment force, but because it has stolen all the basic
positions of the leftist ideology and transformed them into
easily-consumed slogans for the masses.
The
far-right leaders frequently attack on bankers and the
political-economic elites, yet they direct their main rhetoric
firepower against the usual victims: vulnerable parts of the
population, like immigrants.
The fact
that the far-right has stolen the positions of the left and put them
into its own framework, permitted the establishment apparatus to put
under the sign of 'populism', almost anything that resides between,
say, neo-nazi formations, up to the non-parliamentary far-left,
except of course the traditional political powers that faithfully
serve neoliberalism to date. However, this broad range of ideological
shades includes numerous and often opponent ideologies.
As a
consequence, the leftist leaders in the West are called 'radicals'
and 'populists' too.
The trick
has to do with a common practice of the neoliberal establishment. We
saw it with the 'identity
politics' method in the UK and US elections.
Through 'populism', everyone not aligned with the establishment is
stigmatized as demagogue and unrealistic. The huge ideological
differences between the far-right and left, which is the substance in
politics, are hidden under the carpet through this trick.
Observe the
huge contradiction here: The establishment narratives accuse all
kinds of 'populists' for being simplistic, having a kind of
Manichaeistic logic, often 'unrealistic'. Yet, at the same time, the
same narratives foolishly demolish every ideological difference
through this absurdly simplified trick described above.
But there is
more.
Probably
less than two decades ago, the same political establishment that now
serves faithfully the neoliberal doctrine, was using a clearly
populist rhetoric to attract voters. This was something very common,
especially among many politicians from the social-democrats and the
popular right in Europe. It was the time that the bubble economy was
still offering fake prosperity, and the common currency became the
Trojan Horse of the bankers to establish their permanent sovereignty
over the nation-states.
But the big
bubble burst in 2007-08. The elites had to alter the common
narratives in order to maintain the current status in which the
bankers and the big corporations should be left untouched, so that
the bill for the crisis should go to the usual victims, the ordinary
people. Suddenly, the old populists became 'responsible' managers of
the societies who are 'telling the truth' to the people.
This
remarkable transformation concerns not only the traditional political
powers as a whole - who have enriched their political arsenal with
fresh personalities closer to neoliberalism. It concerns specific
politicians who were transformed, literally in one night, from
'irresponsible' and 'unrealistic' populists to 'responsible
pragmatists' who are not trying to manipulate the electorate!
But still,
that was not enough.
The concept
of 'populism' itself had to be changed. The establishment apparatus
had to 'relocate' some basic features of populism, away from the new
conditions that the elites want to impose.
Therefore,
it is 'unrealistic', for example, to believe that healthcare should
be provided by the state for everyone (which is something taken for
granted less than two or three decades ago), simply because the rich
want to pay less and less taxes in order to gain more and more. It is
'irresponsible' to support people in just keeping their benefits
under the pretext of economic instability. The economic chaos of
course always comes from this system that propagates this perception.
As a result
of all these, people who are coming from the left and speak about
pro-people policies, are stigmatized by the establishment apparatus
as 'populists' who try to manipulate the masses. They have been
placed next to far-right politicians who have totally different
agenda and actually do the dirty job for the elites. In reality,
these leftist politicians are just trying to defend what has been
conquered with struggles and blood by the people in previous eras,
against this new brutal onslaught of neoliberalism.
The ultimate
goal of the establishment is simple: drive the electorate away from
the 'dangerous' and 'radical' left, back to the neoliberal center,
which is promoted as the only 'serious' and 'realistic' political
regime capable of running societies efficiently.
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