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The Populist Temptation - Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era (Paperback)
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The Populist Temptation - Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era (Paperback)
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List price R468
Loot Price R382
Discovery Miles 3 820
You Save R86 (18%)
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
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Populism, on both the right and the left, has spread like wildfire
throughout Europe and the United States and is making inroads in
other parts of the world. In simplest terms, populism is a
political ideology that vilifies elites, minorities and foreigners
while lionizing "the people." It reached its apogee in the U.S.
with the election of Donald Trump but has been a force in Europe
since the Great Recession and the refugee crisis. We now see the
rise of leaders with populist tendencies everywhere from Brazil to
Turkey. In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen places this
global resurgence of populism in its historical context. Populists
have always thrived, he observes, in times of poor economic
performance. Populism feeds on rising inequality, which augments
the ranks of those left behind and fans dissatisfaction with the
economic status quo. It responds to rapid economic change that
heightens insecurity. These economic developments, Eichengreen
shows, give rise to populist reactions when they highlight the
divergent interests of the people and the elite. Banking and
financial crises are a case in point: the financiers who are the
precipitating agents of such crises are card-carrying members of
the elite, and are seen as profiting at the expense of the people.
But populism is also a protest against the declining influence of
the traditions, beliefs and community of once-dominant groups. It
is a reaction against the challenge posed by immigrants and
minorities to the people as a homogeneous, well-defined entity.
Populists capitalizing on these feelings appeal to a glorious,
mythologized past grounded in the collective traditions of that
once-dominant majority. They invoke nationalism and criticize
politicians who embrace diversity, open borders and equal rights.
Populism has particular appeal, Eichengreen shows, when these
identity politics and economic grievances come together. There is
no magic solution to these concerns, but Eichengreen points to a
starting place: strengthening welfare state policies that make for
greater equality of opportunity and social cohesion. Comparing
Europe with the United States, he shows that America's patchwork
welfare state is less well equipped to deal with the fallout from
globalization and technical change and the growing distance between
social groups. This reality will be hard to change, since America's
limited welfare state reflects the country's historically-rooted
suspicion of big government. It is therefore in the United States,
Eichengreen concludes, where the siren song of populism is most
alluring-and dangerous.
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