The rise of populist politicians is a global phenomenon. The Wall Street Journal In Germany, this phenomenon is being analysed in light of last weekend’s elections in which two populist parties defeated two far-right and far-left parties in two German states (Bertrand Benoit, “The rise of populists in Europe isn’t just down to immigration, it’s also down to a lack of trust“, The Wall Street Journal(August 2, 2024)
The scenario Benoit and his sources paint is roughly this: A crisis occurs and the government is unable to resolve it due to the checks and balances of liberal democracy. This fuels public discontent and distrust in the government, leading voters to turn to populist politicians.
This analysis raises many questions: Why are democratic governments today less able to find solutions than before? Why do voters distrust government and choose populist rulers who promise? more Government? Populism has always been and always will be interventionist. And how can voters believe that a populist government can solve all our problems, given the level of public debt, for example (as Benoit mentions)? This is a problem caused by the government’s intention to solve all our problems.
Inspired by the work of economists and political philosophers, I think there is a better explanation. Anthony de JasayDissatisfaction with the state is growing because the state is incapable of satisfying individuals who are fundamentally different. If it were not so, over a century of increasing power would have already made it so. What happens is that democratic governments and their politicians compete to cater to the demands of the majority of voters, trying to buy their support (and that of vocal special interests). This creates dissatisfaction among those who fund the buyout and among those disadvantaged by the new government intervention. Think of individuals who are on the wrong side of official discrimination. These angry voters will make their case by calling government leniency “social justice.” A new and vague dissatisfaction will be born, and governments will try to quell it by inflicting harm on other citizens.
The more the state intervenes, the more people complain. Just like Lewis Carroll’s “The Red Queen” and “Alice” Through the mirrorThe nation has to run faster just to stay where it is, and even faster to get ahead.
We should not ignore the legitimate complaints of ordinary citizens about the bullying they have received from the political establishment over the past few decades, from smoking license laws to radical criminalization and forced discrimination. Remember the legal apartheid that was launched against mostly lower-class smokers, and the private establishments that welcomed them, such as bars, fast food restaurants, and even outdoor venues? (I would like to add and change some points in this post. 25 years ago, I wrote an article for Econlib called “The Economics of Smoking.” (But my private property argument against the so-called “externalities” of smoking was correct.) The main source of discontent is the vanity and power of interventionist democratic governments, but it is a mistake to believe that populist governments can stop the cycle of discontent. Populism It is nothing less than totalitarian democracy with the human face of strongmanship, which will breed more commandism, polarization and discontent.
What will happen to the Red Queen race? De Jassay thinks it won’t work (see the final chapter of his magnum opus). state(The following interpretation differs only slightly from that of De Jasai.) Constantly called upon to give and not take, to intervene and not harm, the rulers of the state will use up all their discretionary power just to maintain their command. They will have to promise more and more to win over their political rivals. Thus, the state will need more and more economic power. The state will fuse political and economic power into “state capitalism.” The state will stealthily nationalize the economy, not by Marxist means, but through regulation and nepotism. Eventually, the state will have no choice but to abolish electoral competition and other checks and balances in order to effectively pursue the happiness of its people and the power of its rulers. The state will acquire unlimited power. In this brave new world, the people will become, in effect, the property of the state, just as the slaves were the property of their masters on the old plantations. The state will become a plantation state.
We need not be as pessimistic as de Jassay to realise that this is exactly the path that our democratic giants are following around the world.
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Sometimes you must give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to DALL-E what is DALL-E’s. The featured image in this post was created by DALL-E with just one prompt: “Create an image of the Red Queen and Alice (from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass) running faster and faster to stay in place.”
“The Red Queen and Alice” by Lewis Carroll and DALL-E
