"Rightwing populism in particular relies on an ever-expanding list of enemies from urban elites to benefit claimants, immigrants to deep-state bureaucrats, diversity officers to leftwing radicals, net zero zealots to mild liberals yet this list always contains a striking omission."
"Many of the social trends that rightwing populists and their supporters say they hate, and want to reverse, are partly being driven by populist voters themselves. The decline of pubs and high streets, the struggles of small farmers, the retreat of Christianity, the shrinkage of British manufacturing, the fracturing of the traditional family, the reliance on foreign labour, and the fading of local distinctiveness and pride: all these are caused, to a large extent, by changes in consumer habits and social norms."
"Like other conservatives over the centuries, rightwing populists offer a way for people to object to shifts in the status quo, while erasing any uncomfortable thoughts about their own participation in these changes."
Populism's strength lies in recognizing that societies are divided by clashing interests and refusing consensus politics that many voters find inadequate. Rightwing populism particularly excels at identifying enemies—from urban elites to immigrants to bureaucrats—yet systematically omits a crucial factor: many social trends populists claim to oppose, including pub closures, manufacturing decline, family fragmentation, and loss of local identity, are substantially caused by changes in consumer behavior and social norms among populist supporters themselves. This contradiction persists despite Britain being a nation of supermarket shoppers preferring foreign goods, living increasingly online, having fewer children, and traveling abroad. Rightwing populists offer voters psychological relief by allowing them to object to social change while avoiding uncomfortable recognition of their own participation in these transformations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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