"Populism" is just Democracy libs hate

submitted by TrabWhite Nationalist from self.debatealtright

With the recent elections in Italy Reddit has had a lot to say on 'Populism' and I checked out this thread (https://old.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/xg0npj/why_do_liberals_hate_populism/) and by far the funniest response is this post: (https://old.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/xg0npj/why_do_liberals_hate_populism/iopgwv0/)

What does Democracy mean to Neoliberals? Is it just "only the stuff I like getting votes?". As much as I hate democracy can we even call liberals Democratic anymore if they call any politicians they dislike "populists"?

all 5 comments
sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun

[–]NeoRail 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

In the first place, "liberal democracy" is an oxymoron. Liberalism is rule by the rich and democracy is - at least in theory - rule by everyone. Serious liberals have never liked democracy and only really grudgingly accept it, precisely on the terms you describe - democracy is when liberals get their way, and the more liberals get their way, the more democratic it is.

[–]LGBTQIAIDSAnally Injected Death Sentence 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

There has always been a tension between liberal and democratic ideology; indeed, they weren't even that well merged until the early 20th century, especially after WWI. Ardent 19th century liberals like J. S. Mill were highly sceptical of democracy.

We're seeing that they still haven't been fully reconciled today, with plenty of liberals clearly preferring some sort of unelected bureaucratic government composed of self-styled 'intellectuals' (viz. the 'enlightened', 'educated', 'sophisticated', &c. cosmopolitans) running everything, most of whom are foreign to their own country.

The cosmopolitan soy-latte-guzzling Remoaners who voted against Brexit because 'mah holidays to Europe' and who read The Guardian to whinge about the 'Far-Right Tories' all day are an arch-example: they have zero problem with having their national sovereignty and borders eroded, and they were 100% willing to discard the referendum results, what with all their nonsense about annulling the first Brexit referendum to hold a second one in which the people would realize their 'error' and that their 'true' interests were 'really' served by remaining in the EU. Of course, if the second one also failed, many of them would be open to a third and a fourth and so on right up until they got their desired result, at which point they'd immediately switch to being anti-referendum.

Liberals very easily become anti-democrats if they think that the 'ignorant', 'uneducated', 'unsophisticated', &c. people are shifting Rightward. You could also see strands of this with the '2016 was rigged', '#NotMyPresident' thing during the Trump Administration: there is this persistent idea that Trump was 'illegitimate' and that he either wasn't voted in or was only voted in by 'inbred uneducated hillbilly rednecks' (as if those people even remotely outnumber the typical big city urbanite scum such that they could win the federal election). Just like the fool you linked, who writes that Bernie Sanders (compared to Biden, more populist and less elitist and pluralist, that is, a more extreme and arguably more illiberal democrat) is 'anti-intellectual'.

They just can't face the fact that educated urbanites can also oppose them. 'Like, dude, surely being educated would make you a liberal cosmopolitan, r-r-right?'

Just look at this comment. Obvious liberal who calls democracy 'a shit system'. Yeah, it's 'shit' and needs to be replaced by unelected and mostly foreign 'intellectuals' when Meloni wins:

https://saidit.net/s/politics/comments/9sns/the_new_pm_of_italy_looks_like_the_solution_all/zm60

Of course, democracy's great, definitely not rigged (e.g. 'the most secure election in US history') and the 'adults are back in charge' when the likes of Biden wins.

One of the many things that I like about the actual Far-Right is its sheer consistency compared to all other positions: there, liberalism and democracy are always trash, and not only situationally so. 'I win, therefore democracy is good and not rigged; I lose, therefore democracy is bad and rigged' is reasoning befitting merely of the idiot masses and unbecoming of anyone genuinely possessing of intelligence.

Think about it: every future Federal election in America will be considered 'fake' and 'rigged' by millions of people. And the only thing that decides who those millions of people actually are is who wins. For instance, if a Republican wins in 2024, there is practically 100% certainty that millions of Democrats will go through the '#NotMyPresident' spiel all over again, that there will be a 'Russiagate 2.0' conspiracy theory (The Russians hacked it again!!!).

[–]YJaewedwqewqClerical Fascist 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Liberalism, much like Satanism and Judaism, mandates that its adherents respect and help out their fellow cultists, but at the same time to treat any detractors or those who run afoul of the party line as vermin to be exterminated and suppressed.

This is yet another example of this guiding philosophy: when it suits them, they use (often fabricated or manipulated) statistics to throw tantrums about how their political enemies are "literally destroying democracy" and that since a slight majority of the population supposedly agrees with them, they should get their way, all the way, with no resistance, however they will simultaneously ignore similar arguments from the other side, either not acknowledging them at all or claiming that since what they are pushing is a "humans rights" issue or some such, that the people's opinions and any other barrier to their degeneracy becoming the law of the land is illegitimate.

tl;dr? Liberals, Neo- or otherwise, do indeed define democracy as "progressive drivel getting voted in".

Democracy, much like "communism", is a nebulous, impossible, and completely against-human-nature concept that is used as a carrot for stupid, naïve, lazy, and uninterested elements within the populace to get them to become the slave-soldiers of ZOG. Democracy, just like Capitalism and Communism, will ALWAYS result in liberalism, and liberalism in a cyberpunk-esque ZOG dystopia like the one in which we currently live.

[–]EthnocratArcheofuturist 2 insightful - 3 fun2 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

Every time I see these shitlibs use the term "anti-intellectual" I want to smash their face into a fucking wall.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Populism is mostly just a pejorative label, just like "fascist" and "nazi" is. In the minds of the most, populism is politicians prioritizing pandering to the masses instead of what's true.

But on the other hand, populist label is mostly to blame on politicians of this sort, whereas labels such as fascist or nazi are given much more generously, because the populists always appeal to the broad and vague popular sentiments. Say for example covid vaccines, we had a populist but still wannabe highbrow party that always dodged the questions about them, when they were asked directly are they good or harmful, they would drift away to topics such as the right to choose because saying either of these things would lose them some votes and reputation.

In case of Italy, I feel like they are big time populists, that they won't deliver on their campaign promises, but hey, we'll see.