[lbo-talk] populist outrage!

Wojtek Sokolowski swsokolowski at yahoo.com
Fri Feb 20 06:19:51 PST 2009


RUSH: Yes, but they are going to establish separate rules for themselves by which they live, such as they'll be able to not pay their taxes and work in government at high levels. They're not going to be subject to whatever greenhouse gas laws there are. They're not going to be subject to any of this sort of thing, 'cause they're too important, you see? And they all think they're part of the elite. Some of them are going to get canned, some of them are going to get the shaft here. They just don't know it. But forget Democrat. These people are liberal socialists now. They bear no resemblance to the Democrat Party of John Kennedy, for example.

--- etc.

[WS:] Amazing how closely this drivel resembles rants on the left - just substitute "socialism" with "capitalism" or "fascism" and you could run this spiel in a radical left outlet. This is not criticize the left, but rather to point out that populism is not confined to any political doctrine (right or left) but invariably it is mob mentality "us, the people" vs. "them, the elites." As such, it it much more amenable to the manipulation from the right than that from the left.

This perhaps explains why historically socialism lost to capitalism. Early socialists were innovators who rode on the wave of populist sentments while capitalists entertained aristocratic pretenses and refused to stoop to cater to such lowly sentiments. The latter day capitalists, however, did not make the same mistakes and perfected their manipulation of populist sentiments (by applying the knowledge of marketing) and beat the socialists in their own game. In the end, socialism lives mainly among intellectual elites, while populist masses love the markets, religion, private businesses and their right wing bosses.

I am afraid that at the end of the day, right wing populiast sentiments will prevail, especially if Obama presidency fails to deliver on the hope it created*) - which is not that unlikely, given its kowtowing to Repugs, investors and business interests. I am afrais that the 2012 election may go so some right wing populist kook that makes Sarah Palin look like a liberal.

Wojtek

*) Desmond Tutu at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7897206.stm

"In the midst of this celebration, however, a word of caution is appropriate. In the first days after 9/11, the United States had the world's sympathy, an unprecedented wave of it. President Bush squandered it. Obama too could easily squander the goodwill that his election generated if he disappoints"



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