The Rise of Demagogues

[Demagogue: a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument (Oxford Dictionary)]

It is a popular certitude that the ancient Greek city of Athens is the cradle of democracy. What is lesser known is the fact that Athens is also the birthplace of its first cousin, demagoguery. Albeit, democracy has run the show for the most part since their inception, the wave seems to be turning now. Democracy is failing. Fault lines have started to appear in most of the safe heavens of democracy like the United States, Brazil, India, Italy, Britain, and Germany. More and more people have started to despise the inefficient and unproductive process that democracy is and have started turning to tricksters as their last expedient. There is an exponential rise in the number of the extreme right or left-wing populist governments all over Europe, Asia, and South America. These governments under demagogue leaders have more often than not offered simple solutions to the most complex problems of our times.

The trigger of the annihilation seems to be the boiling discontent over sloppy handling of sensitive matters like immigration, economic slump, and faith by seasoned cliché liberal politicians. Corruption at higher echelons and the perception that the ruling class has become indifferent towards the hardships of the ruled have also significantly contributed to the downfall. Subjects smell betrayal from their ruling counterparts.  Economist Dambisa Moyo in her book Edge of Chaos argues that our sluggish democratic governmental structure is primarily responsible for the decline in social mobility in the last decade. It is her argument that these factors inter alia have driven people to make more conservative choices. Choosing politicians skilled in oratory and blandishments, who promise everything to everybody and arouse racial, religious, and class prejudice to lead them. A demagogue as Reinhard Luthin would put it. And a coup de grace for democracy.

It is highly unlikely that the present episode would flee anytime before engulfing democracy as we know it. I say so because the self-correcting mechanism of democracy would, in all probability, not be able to stop this genetic mutation of democracy into demagoguery. It is so because our democracy has a fundamental fault. The foundational fault is the belief that democracy is a ‘right’. A right one gets by just being of a specific age with no strings attached. No sir. Democracy is sheer hard work. Democracy is about the careful application of mind and patiently weighing the pros and cons before making a decision. A tedious task, which citizens these days are glad to pass on to demagogues.

But this argument against democracy is as old as democracy itself. The Greek philosopher Socrates was a staunch opponent of the scheme of enfranchising all without any qualification or prerequisite of education. He expostulated that such a model would have disastrous consequences as the general populace is not educated enough to make an informed choice. Winston Churchill caught the imagination of Socrates when he said that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with an average voter.

Then the question that comes forth is that if the citizens have always been so naïve, then how democracy could survive for so long? The answer can be located in the much talked about the paper of Shawn Rosenberg in which he prophesizes that democracy is devouring itself and it won’t last. He reasons that society’s elites-people holding power at the top of the intellectual, political and intellectual pyramid- that were, till now, steering the ship forward have lately been discredited. Thrashed by the demagogues. These Khan Market gangs, Westminster clubs have increasingly been looked upon with abhorrence by the masses. Institutions designed to check the abuse of power are falling like a row of dominoes. The fundamental virtues of democracy have already been abandoned and dissent is met with contempt. The result is that now for the very first time actually ill-equipped captains have taken the responsibilities to steer clean the ship from troubled waters.

What actually has brought democracy to its knees is its promise of empowerment. Living true to its promise, democracy with the succor of technology has brought the governance to the fingertips of the governed. Citizens, irrespective of know-how of intricate topics have been enfranchised to participate in the governance on a real-time basis. Comment upon, criticizing, and condemning intricate and complex issues of governance on social media while the world audience watches them. All have been given a stage to vent out their anger and discontent (however irrational it may be) without an iota of accountability attached to it. This has prompted short-sighted decision making instead of patient long term planning which had been till yesteryears, the hallmark of democracy. Democracy has transformed itself into a populist form of governance, where demagogues naturally have an edge over traditional politicians because of their capacity to promise more. These demagogues appeal to the desires, prejudices, and ignorance of the citizen instead of appealing to their reason. They have a simple answer for complex issues- build a wall to check immigration, give guns to everyone to protect them from someone shooting them- which resonates very well with the majority.

The form of democracy that was subsisting hitherto has outlived its utility and is absolutely incompatible with the present and there is no point in giving cardiac defibrillation to it. What is worth pondering over is what system should replace it? De facto authoritarian governments run by demagogues or a system of governance that demands more responsibility from its citizens.

*Image courtesy: cartoonmovement.com