| ▲ | like_any_other 4 days ago | |
It's very simple. They pretend they're using democracy to mean "rule of the people", but the meaning they're actually using is "policy outcomes that I like". That's why parties can do the opposite of what they promised [1,2], judges can issue wildly creative rulings [3], even directly contrary to referendums [4], universities can demand ideological loyalty oaths [5], a party can get 37% of votes but only 20% of seats [6], or even 14.3% of votes and only 0.77% of seats, newspapers can get banned [8], towns can be fined for not participating in mandatory celebrations [9], and activists can even be prevented from leaving their own countries to attend a political summit, despite EU free movement [10], and there's not a peep about endangering democracy or authoritarianism. Don't take my word for it - here's German chancellor Olaf Scholz admitting it in a slip of honesty: As a strong democracy we are very clear: The extreme right should be out of political decision making processes. - https://xcancel.com/Bundeskanzler/status/1890709875644145935 [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67506641 [2] https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2024/05/23/irony-labour-mea... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_California_Proposition_18... [5] https://www.schoolinfosystem.org/2021/11/11/study-diversity-... [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_French_legislative_electi... [7] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2024/jul... [8] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-bans-right-wing... [9] https://nationalpost.com/opinion/ontario-town-fined-10000-fo... | ||
| ▲ | mindslight 4 days ago | parent [-] | |
No, you're muddying the waters by conflating the terms as if they apply to the same dimension. Democracy does mean "rule of the people". But populism means those people being taken in by overly simplistic gut-appealing messages. Of course, it is generally hard to judge this objectively. But often the people end up choosing leaders that directly oppose what those same people claim to want, in which case the failure is clear. For example look at the current dynamic in the US. Hefty and unpredictable import taxes are harming the domestic industries we still have left. But when you try to point this out to the average populist, they go right into the refrain about how we need to compete with China, like nobody else understands this goal or something. They're basically stuck on the simplistic gut-appealing mantra, and can't get past it to entertain criticism how the current policies are doing the exact opposite as being claimed. | ||