Often you can hear a word like "populist." What is this? In what context is the word used? What is the history of its origin?
general information
The word "populist" is an echo of ancient times. It came to us from Latin. Ordinary citizens at the time of the Roman Republic and Empire were called "in half." When the upper echelons wanted to do something, often it required the support of commoners. In order to receive it, decisions were taken aimed at their "approval".
Thus, populist politics is not an invention of today. It was used long before our era. And even then, warnings were expressed against its excessive use. Thus, many Roman philosophers condemned their people for giving their rights and privileges in exchange for bread and circuses, while the ruling elite plundered the country. Such a thing could be heard both during the time of the republic and during the empire. But during the heyday of the first form of government, such accusations sounded less often. As you can see, the word “populist” is a term with a long history.
Areas of use
The word we are considering is used only in politics? No, besides this, populist decisions are made by company managers, marketers, and many other people. Of course, in this case it’s impossible to row everything under one comb. So, if you consider the option with marketers, they act according to the rule "the buyer should have the impression that he robbed the store, although the opposite is true." Therefore, they often use various phrases that should convince people that it is profitable for them to go to a certain commercial enterprise. But it is also necessary to take care of the profitability of trade.
Populism in politics
But back to the main topic of the article. What is the term “populist” in modern times? This word can often be heard in accusatory speeches about the incompetence of state managers. Also, this can be attributed to promises, which are known in advance: they will not be able to be fulfilled.
An example is the situation when the head of the government of the Russian Federation promises that each citizen will receive 30,000 rubles, regardless of his income level. In such cases, it is said that populist slogans are used. But they can play a useful job for the citizens of a certain country. So, if residents of the state are distinguished by high intellectual development, they will be able to prevent such a politician from coming to power in elections.
Alas, given that populism is flourishing all over the planet, it can be said that this is still a long way off. Moreover, this phenomenon is characteristic not only for individuals, but also for entire organizations. The best examples are populist parties. What are they? What are the characteristic features of their functioning?
What is a populist party?
Their peculiarity is that they promise things that are impossible to accomplish or they are not going to do them.
Let's look at two examples. If a party appears that promises that five years after their election, all people will receive immortality, this is pure populism. The people, of course, are not averse to living forever, only from a technical point of view it is difficult to implement.
Now a second example. There is a hypothetical country in which corruption thrives most. One party says that it is ready to fight it. She is elected to power. But instead of fighting corruption, the party itself joins the "money pie division." In this case, they say that she is populist.