Populism Is a Shadow Cast by Democracy Itself. Discuss with Reference to Readings for Weeks 3&4

Populism is ‘a shadow cast by democracy itself’ (Canovan 1999, 3). Discuss with reference to readings for weeks 3&4.

In this essay, I will seek to defend Margaret Canovan’s idea that Populism is ‘a shadow cast by democracy itself.’ I will do this by arguing that populism is not a concept that can be created without the basic premise of democracy, but also that the populism has been spawned in the modern day by the disdain of domestic politics, but also the global political climate and some group’s belief that the power needs to be given back to the people. In order to defend this point clearly, I think it is important to first define three of the key terms that are central to the understanding of the argument. The first of these is democracy, which has taken on a different meaning in modern times to its original ancient definition, secondly elitism, and finally and most pertinently to the essay title, Populism.  

The first term that I will attempt to define is that of democracy. Democracy is a concept that is a basic right and expectation in western culture and is a term that dates back to Ancient Athens circa 508 B.C. The term originates from the Greek words ‘demos’ (people) and ‘kratos’ (power) and was formerly used as an insult by the less educated and less powerful people who hated the government. This was because they felt it was filled by citizens ruling based on birth right rather than any form of fair and free election and whom were lacking in any of the right attributes or abilities to successfully govern the country. Plato also criticised democracy, but in a rather different way to the previous counter to democracy. He suggested that democracy gave people what the wan, but not what is good and said, ‘democracy is an ‘anarchic form of society… which treats all men as equal whether they are or not.’ In modern democracy, we have a government that is made up of elected officials who’s job it is to represent the values and beliefs of those people for whom he has been elected. As a government, they have full power of the country and are the lawmakers. In the UK, we have an election at least every four years, so our right to a vote and democracy is enacted regularly. In many countries in the world, still in the modern day, there is no democracy and they are governed by a dictatorship who has gained power through force or an unlawful election, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.

Elitism, in political terms, is the concept that a group is formed with the intention of leading, based on a few critical factors. These factors may include a certain high line of ancestry, or a greater level of intellect and education, or a significantly higher wealth than normal. Often attributes like this lead to a greater level of power and influence for a person or group and can therefore be more likely to gain support in society and gain votes. For many years in UK politics, many of the politicians have had some or even many of the listed attributes which could be a huge factor in the rise of populism and a slowly changing domestic political climate. Elitism assumes that we live in a pluralistic society in which every person has varying interests, upbringings and backgrounds.

Populism has no direct definition, as it can be take up many forms, so instead I will attempt to give a rough idea of the concept of populism. The term populism derives from the Latin word ‘populus’ (the people) and as such can be inherently linked to the concepts of democracy. However, there are many key differences. It is a form of social movement and one that can often challenge the set up of Western countries democratic systems. It often plays to the fears of the people and can use ideology and sometimes even lies to exploit and play off of these fears. It seeks to be anti-establishment and mainly goes against the core beliefs and values of a government. Regular characteristics of populism are beliefs against immigration and multiculturalism making it a far right political concept. In seeking to give power back to the people, concepts such as referendums are keenly enjoyed by populists.

It is my belief that populism is ‘a shadow caused by democracy itself.’ Without democracy, populism would not be a concept at all, let alone one which can be seen coming so prominently into modern day politics. A survey by ‘Voice People 2006’ suggested that 79% of people felt that democracy was the best way of governing, however roughly one third of people felt that the views and beliefs of the voters were being represented and acted upon correctly, in their own countries. I believe that it is this kind of unhappiness with the political elite of nations that results in the populist movements. The fundamental link between democracy and populism is shown in Margaret Canovan’s, ‘Trust the People’, when she says that the concept of ‘ideal democracy would coincide with the populist’s dream, though democratic practice cannot live up to it.’ This is a point, which certainly backs up the survey done by ‘Voice People 2006’. This shows how the people do want elected officials to be leading the country, but to act in a much more representative manner of the people, who in populism, tend to be in much more of a struggle and desperate than those who can be associated with elitism. This disdain between those within elitism and the followers of populism leads to the more radical political figures or parties being elected into power. There are many examples of this in history, where charismatic leaders exploit the fears of normal people and use it to their advantage, sometimes to disastrous effects like from Adolf Hitler. A modern day example of this is currently in America with Donald Trump. Evidently charismatic, Trump’s slogan of ‘Make America Great Again’, plays to the fear that economical, political and immigration problems in the US, along with global problems such as terrorism are a threat to America being great and he can put an end to this with unrealistic, exorbitant promises which will never come to fruition. However, in times of need, which many American people are clearly feeling, they consider this to be giving back a voice to the every day, normal American, rather than the elitist political leaders of present and past who have led America astray. It is this however, the basic concept of democracy, which gives these populist uprising a voice and strength and is why Canovan says that populism, ‘accompanies democracy like a shadow’, when concluding her work.