Does “populist” have a coherent definition? I don’t use the term. It seems to recently have come to mean: “right-wing politician who claims to be against the ‘elites.’” They aren’t, of course: it’s kayfabe. They answer to factions of capitalist class, just as the neoliberal politicians they hope to replace do.
“Populism” seems to be a liberal construction, meaning a bourgeois one. It gives off “tyranny of the majority” vibes. God forbid the majority—the working class—should ever get real political power.
Hmm, might be that the definition is somewhat less diffuse in German.
I meant primarily that the guy makes claims that resonate with the masses, even though and also specifically because they oversimplify and misrepresent complex issues, or are just complete fucking lies.
For example, the guy is infamous for a claim he made a year ago, that asylum seekers who’ve been rejected would be getting complete coverage of medical treatments and therefore getting their teeth fixed up, when our citizens don’t get appointments, which is just absolute non-sense. None of this happens. But of course, it resonates with nazis, and anyone who’s uninformed and frustrated with our medical system.
The guy is a populist, unfortunately.
Does “populist” have a coherent definition? I don’t use the term. It seems to recently have come to mean: “right-wing politician who claims to be against the ‘elites.’” They aren’t, of course: it’s kayfabe. They answer to factions of capitalist class, just as the neoliberal politicians they hope to replace do.
“Populism” seems to be a liberal construction, meaning a bourgeois one. It gives off “tyranny of the majority” vibes. God forbid the majority—the working class—should ever get real political power.
doesn’t it just mean “guy who claims to be against the ‘elites.’"?
Hmm, might be that the definition is somewhat less diffuse in German.
I meant primarily that the guy makes claims that resonate with the masses, even though and also specifically because they oversimplify and misrepresent complex issues, or are just complete fucking lies.
For example, the guy is infamous for a claim he made a year ago, that asylum seekers who’ve been rejected would be getting complete coverage of medical treatments and therefore getting their teeth fixed up, when our citizens don’t get appointments, which is just absolute non-sense. None of this happens. But of course, it resonates with nazis, and anyone who’s uninformed and frustrated with our medical system.