Right Wing Populism Quotes

“The defining feature of world politics post the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has been the rise of right-wing populists, who have disrupted politics. It wasn't meant to be this way. Conventional wisdom at the time was that the GFC would lead to the 'social democratic moment'. The theory went that in the aftermath of the GFC - an event which exposed the dangers of relentless deregulation and fuelled an already existing rise of inequality - progressive parties, with a preference for appropriately calibrated regulation and redistribution, would benefit. Like much conventional wisdom, reality proved otherwise.
Instead, it's been the right-wing populists' moment. The charlatans' moment. First, they disrupted their own parties, then they disrupted politics more broadly. (p.14-15)”
― Chris Bowen, On Charlatans

“[The right-wing populist] narrative centres around division: dividing the world into the virtuous and non-virtuous. Convincing an electoral majority that they are among the virtuous, and that the non-virtuous - that is, free trade, China, migrants and refugees, and those who would impose meaningful action on climate change - need to be dealt with via tough policies. This right-wing populism turbocharges identity and grievance politics and weaponises it through the amplifying support of both social media and elements of the traditional mainstream media. (p.20-21)”
― Chris Bowen, On Charlatans

“Less trade is the last thing most countries need if they are to improve their economies and the standard of living of workers of a lower socio-economic status. Reducing immigration is one sure way to stymie economic growth.
And then there are the policies that this populist mantra is designed to mask: cuts to essential services like health and education to fund tax cuts for higher income workers and corporations. It's like a pickpocket who arranges a distraction while happily fleecing his victims. (p.22)”
― Chris Bowen, On Charlatans

“The first thing to do is recognise that the rise of charlatans is a symptom of people being left behind. Charlatans are a symptom of the ills in our society more than they are a cause. And we need to be as angry about the ills that are making some voters seek out an alternative as they themselves are.
Charlatans have been successful because they have effectively sold false remedies to the people who feel that the existing political structure hasn't worked for them. Just as the original charlatans could only ply their wares because a lot of people were very ill, so the modern-day charlatans are selling false remedies to legitimate grievances.
Charlatans have employed two of the most powerful emotive forces to further their aims: anger and fear.
Even if voters are sceptical about the alleged solutions of the charlatans, the fact that the populists are seemingly angry on their behalf has registered with them in a positive way. (pp. 98-99)”
― Chris Bowen, On Charlatans

“When an earthquake hits, things don't usually quickly return to normal.
The rise of the populist right-wing charlatan has been a political earthquake. We can't expect normal programming to simply resume and the political battle to return to more normal fault lines.
The charlatans are going to be around for a while.
But there's one incontrovertible truth when it comes to charlatans: they eventually get found out. (p.125)”
― Chris Bowen, On Charlatans