Topic > The Specter of Populism in Politics

A specter haunts the world: the specter of populism, the art of appealing or rhetoric aimed at ordinary people. However, demagogy has embraced populism with a big hug. If he reminds you of our Prime Minister, well he should, because he is an absolute master at using populism in politics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Populist politicians pander to the masses. They tell people exactly what they want to hear to sway public opinion in their favor. If you tell people that what is happening to them is not really their fault but that of other agents, they will be inclined to agree with you. Human beings like to believe that their achievements are due to themselves and that their problems are caused by anything but themselves. If you have slipped on a wet floor because you ignored the warning sign that has been posted regarding the same, you would definitely like to know that the sign has been made deliberately small and it's not really your fault. Apply this to any modern example and you will see a trend of people dissatisfied with the status quo, or the current scenario and populist demagogues swooping in to capitalize on the disgruntled masses. Populism is the most powerful arrow in the quiver of demagogues. Demagogues are essentially political leaders who seek support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than using rational arguments. Case in point, the newly elected dictator, our lord and savior Donald Trump. This is obviously if you are American or Russian. If you're a citizen of any other country, well, good luck trying to be heard in the populist pandemonium. Rationality involves listening to the facts and working with them. However, if you tell people that all science is false and that every scientific fact is just a myth propagated to exploit them, they will eventually feel good. They finally feel that all the scientific jargon, too complex for their feeble minds to digest, is a lie. They feel better about themselves by finding comfort in falsehoods. The commander in chief of these lies thus becomes the standard of truth and the reference point for verifying the facts. Statistics lie, science lies, rationality is overrated. Instead we all fall at Trump's feet. Extending that to Donald Trump's other major statements and his statements about Mexicans as messengers of evil and propagators of crimes in America, it was a nice thing for people to hear. They were immediately absolved of the burden of the broken American society they had created, as it was transferred to a foreign community that never had the chance to argue that all of these opinions were based on falsified statements. The refugee crisis faced by the world in light of recent conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere have presented a unique and powerful tool for demagogues. Populist politicians have told people that immigrants are taking away their jobs, their homes, their resources, and forced them to think that they are nothing more than parasites on the country that welcomes them. They play on people's fears, so they have added fear of foreigners or xenophobia to an already well-equipped armor of racism, Islamophobia, nativism and other policies that further distance humanity from global identity. Instead, they carefully build walls between people using a strong web of lies and then perch on them to rule the people. Such populist pandering often fails in the implementation phase because a concrete plan has never been put in place, but when that happens, the damage is often done. The election of..