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Only the grassroots can halt populist politics and its dangerous fakery Only the grassroots can halt populist politics and its dangerous fakery
(25 days later)
The leave campaign’s deceit has been exposed since the referendum. The UK won’t save £350m a week. There won’t be extra money for the NHS. Immigration is not going to magically disappear. And the other EU nations won’t roll over and give us everything we want.The leave campaign’s deceit has been exposed since the referendum. The UK won’t save £350m a week. There won’t be extra money for the NHS. Immigration is not going to magically disappear. And the other EU nations won’t roll over and give us everything we want.
But these are tiddly fibs compared to the wider drumbeat of dishonesty that shaped the whole campaign. The claim that the Brexiteers spoke up for ordinary working people against the political and economic elites that have kept them powerless and poor for decades was the most profound deception. It worked brilliantly.But these are tiddly fibs compared to the wider drumbeat of dishonesty that shaped the whole campaign. The claim that the Brexiteers spoke up for ordinary working people against the political and economic elites that have kept them powerless and poor for decades was the most profound deception. It worked brilliantly.
And it is working equally well for populists all over the world right now. In the US and across Europe, demagogues such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and many others are selling the same political snake oil, claiming that only they can deliver true democracy and economic fairness. Increasing numbers are falling for this rubbish. It is not hard to see why.And it is working equally well for populists all over the world right now. In the US and across Europe, demagogues such as Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and many others are selling the same political snake oil, claiming that only they can deliver true democracy and economic fairness. Increasing numbers are falling for this rubbish. It is not hard to see why.
Related: Trump's economic view is far from neoliberal, but it rides a populist wave
After the 2008 crash, our leaders told anyone who would listen that there would be no more “business as usual”. Most didn’t realise that the politicians were talking about the mass of ordinary working people, not the elites that caused the mess. So welfare cuts, public service degradation and stagnating pay have affected millions for the worse. But corporate executives and bankers still shower themselves with unimaginable sums. Politics remains an elite club dominated by the same old detested parties, hacks and wealthy donors.After the 2008 crash, our leaders told anyone who would listen that there would be no more “business as usual”. Most didn’t realise that the politicians were talking about the mass of ordinary working people, not the elites that caused the mess. So welfare cuts, public service degradation and stagnating pay have affected millions for the worse. But corporate executives and bankers still shower themselves with unimaginable sums. Politics remains an elite club dominated by the same old detested parties, hacks and wealthy donors.
The Brexit campaign channelled this anger and focused it on a bunch of non sequiturs. Its leaders misled millions, as populists always do, by claiming that destroying international collaboration, stopping immigration and reasserting indigenous culture would somehow deepen democracy and make people better off. Why was never fully explained. But as the leave campaign shows, things don’t actually have to make sense in Populist World. Ukip can simultaneously claim to be libertarian and seek to clamp down on freedom of choice for the numerous communities they hate. Donald Trump can without any apparent shame rant about China taking American jobs while outsourcing his own businesses around the globe.The Brexit campaign channelled this anger and focused it on a bunch of non sequiturs. Its leaders misled millions, as populists always do, by claiming that destroying international collaboration, stopping immigration and reasserting indigenous culture would somehow deepen democracy and make people better off. Why was never fully explained. But as the leave campaign shows, things don’t actually have to make sense in Populist World. Ukip can simultaneously claim to be libertarian and seek to clamp down on freedom of choice for the numerous communities they hate. Donald Trump can without any apparent shame rant about China taking American jobs while outsourcing his own businesses around the globe.
The EU referendum must be a wake-up call for those who believe in openness, tolerance and international peaceThe EU referendum must be a wake-up call for those who believe in openness, tolerance and international peace
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. The amoral narcissists who always seem to rise to the top in populist parties create economic and political mayhem and then blame that mayhem on the usual targets: other countries, minority groups, hidden traitors in our midst. The solution is always more isolation, more discrimination and more authoritarianism.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. The amoral narcissists who always seem to rise to the top in populist parties create economic and political mayhem and then blame that mayhem on the usual targets: other countries, minority groups, hidden traitors in our midst. The solution is always more isolation, more discrimination and more authoritarianism.
The EU referendum must be an ear-splitting wake-up call for those who believe in openness, tolerance and international peace. At a time when our parliamentary opposition parties are so weak, waking up can only mean returning to grassroots mobilisation. The March for Europe in London on 2 July showed what can be organised at short notice. About 50,000 people on the streets and more than 1,000 people across the country signed up as volunteers within a few days of the referendum. Far from remainers feeling disheartened, they are angry and active.The EU referendum must be an ear-splitting wake-up call for those who believe in openness, tolerance and international peace. At a time when our parliamentary opposition parties are so weak, waking up can only mean returning to grassroots mobilisation. The March for Europe in London on 2 July showed what can be organised at short notice. About 50,000 people on the streets and more than 1,000 people across the country signed up as volunteers within a few days of the referendum. Far from remainers feeling disheartened, they are angry and active.
Another march is planned for 3 September. From that we must build an even bigger network of people campaigning at a local, national and international level to keep the UK as close to the EU as possible and to fight the rise of chauvinism. Every peaceful campaign technique must be used to pressure MPs and the government to keep the possibility of overturning Brexit on the table and to fight off the total divorce from the EU being demanded by the ultra-Brexiteers.Another march is planned for 3 September. From that we must build an even bigger network of people campaigning at a local, national and international level to keep the UK as close to the EU as possible and to fight the rise of chauvinism. Every peaceful campaign technique must be used to pressure MPs and the government to keep the possibility of overturning Brexit on the table and to fight off the total divorce from the EU being demanded by the ultra-Brexiteers.
Most importantly, a grassroots movement of this sort will put the lie to that anti-elitist fakery of the leavers. This will not be a parade of told-you-so bad losers and establishment figures backed up by sundry experts patronising the country’s population. A passionate movement of ordinary people is being built who feel the same anger leave voters do about our broken politics and skewed economy. The only difference is that this new movement recognises that elites are only really challenged when we fight for a deeper democracy and a fairer economy, not by charging down the blind alleys of Brexit and anti-immigration rhetoric. It is that message that can win leavers back to a politics of hope rather than hate.Most importantly, a grassroots movement of this sort will put the lie to that anti-elitist fakery of the leavers. This will not be a parade of told-you-so bad losers and establishment figures backed up by sundry experts patronising the country’s population. A passionate movement of ordinary people is being built who feel the same anger leave voters do about our broken politics and skewed economy. The only difference is that this new movement recognises that elites are only really challenged when we fight for a deeper democracy and a fairer economy, not by charging down the blind alleys of Brexit and anti-immigration rhetoric. It is that message that can win leavers back to a politics of hope rather than hate.
As our world is 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 as the planet faced multiple crises 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.As our world is 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 as the planet faced multiple crises 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.