The Populares (Latin for “favoring the people”) were a political faction in the late Roman Republic who favored the cause of the plebeians or commoners. The Populares emerged as a political group with the reforms of the Gracchi brothers, tribunes of the plebeians. They attempted to redistribute public land, controlled principally by aristocrats, to the urban poor and veterans.
From this ancient political party, we get the term “populism.” The US Populist Party, founded in 1892, was started by farmers (from the Farmers’ Alliance), and their platform was to establish unionized collective bargaining, federal regulation of railroad rates because they were farmers and used the railroads, and a graduated income taxes, as well as a shorter workweek. “These measures were collectively designed to curb the influence of monopolistic corporate and financial interests and empower small businesses, farmers and laborers.”
That would seem to be a set of ideas that would appeal to any “pro-poor” and “pro-people” politician. Even the textbook definition of populist says it is “a political approach that appeals to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.”
In political theory, populism pushes the idea that the majority ordinary citizens are being disadvantaged by a minority elite. For example, “Right-wing populism” often is against globalization because it can be disadvantageous to local workers. “Left-wing populism” can be against globalization because of giving too much power to multinational corporations.
Populist leaders are democratically elected to help “solve” that situation. However, it seems that their political opponents characterize these leaders as authoritarian.
In 2018, a local political leader said, “New modes of populism, protectionism and extreme nationalism have emerged as supposed alternative to defunct democratic values. This has given rise to a new breed of populist leaders seeking to introduce tyranny as a more alluring counterpoint to democracy.” In 2021 the same person said that what was needed was a push back against the rise of populism in the Philippines by listening more to the people. Apparently, listening to the people is a new idea.
Some “populist” leaders have low approval ratings, like Bolsonaro of Brazil and Moon of South Korea. But the list of those with majority positive approval ratings include Morrison of Australia, Widodo of Indonesia, Obrador of Mexico, Modi of India, and Duterte of the Philippines. From the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center in early 2020: “Democracy in South Korea is Crumbling from Within.” Yet in the 2020 South Korean legislative election, Moon’s Democratic Party won a historic landslide victory, taking the highest number by any party since 1960, guaranteeing a three-fifths super-majority.
Perhaps democracy is only crumbling—or dying—when the opposition’s candidate loses.
Now this paradox: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is due to take place in July. In January, 80 percent of the people said the Olympics should be postponed/canceled. A petition to cancel reached 300,000 signatures two weeks ago. Local fans in Japan may be barred from attending but some 90,000 athletes and support people will participate.
The International Olympic Committee and local organizers maintain that the Games will not be canceled. But then again, IOC President Thomas Bach canceled a visit to Japan due to rising Covid cases. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and six more major prefectures are under state of emergency.
Who should have the final say? The people or the government? And which represents democracy? Abhijit Naskar said, “Dictatorship is rule of the cunning, Democracy is rule of the halfwits.”