THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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When populism poses a threat to democracy

When populism poses a threat to democracy

Democracy is by far the most suitable political system for human societies. However, recent events in the UK, the United States and Taiwan show that populism can still pose a threat to democracy.

Populism, combined with nationalism and protectionism, swayed the result of the Brexit referendum. Influenced by the sensational messages of politicians, many UK citizens voted to leave the European Union before fully understanding the consequences of their decisions.
Data revealed by Google showed that inquiries by Britons on Brexit went up 250 per cent after the referendum. It seems that many people in the UK did not clearly understand the consequences of Brexit when they decided to leave the EU.
Information was not fully disclosed. The public was not adequately informed via conferences, debates and media coverage. After the referendum, stock markets worldwide fell sharply and the British pound devaluated to its lowest point in 30 years. Meanwhile, many in the UK petitioned for a second referendum on Brexit.
Perhaps the worst for the UK is yet to come. Scotland and Northern Ireland, both of which voted to stay in the EU, are reconsidering their position as part of the UK.
Referendums are democratic mechanisms that allow the majority to express their will. They can help determine major decisions in democratic countries if politicians in power make bad policies or if the country is split on certain issues.
However, the will of the general public can also be misled by populism and misinformation, resulting in a choice that the people do not understand or actually desire.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in an opinion piece published in The New York Times that more extreme politicians influenced the Brexit referendum by spreading nationalism and protectionism on social media. Their messages were then amplified by news networks to create hostility in society.
A referendum, in this case, poses a threat to the UK's democracy.
Populism prevails not only in the UK. A similar situation is unfolding in the United States.
By using protectionism to reject foreign migrants and using nationalism to rebuild the American ego and turn back the clock on globalization, Donald Trump has won a ticket to represent the Republican Party bid for the US presidency. International diplomats are concerned global stability will take a huge blow if Trump were to become the next US president.
Populism has manifested itself in Taiwan, too, on many issues. The government tends to do what makes the majority of the people happy, rather than do what is right.
In the recent China Airlines union strike, the government abandoned its role as an arbitrator in disputes between labour and management, allowing the situation to worsen.
It is the government’s job to protect labour rights and it must do so with long-term policies and by helping to forge consensus between employers and employees.
Society cannot prosper without a balanced relationship between labour and employers. If the government cannot make step-by-step plans to maintain stability in society but makes hasty moves to appease certain groups of people, social turmoil can result.
The failure of the government to take a stance early on in the struggle between the state-owned airline and its employees allowed a resolvable dispute to morph into a spectacular strike. Now both labour unions and some employers are threatening to take to the streets. The situation may dramatically worsen if the government does not change its populist policies.
Populism is a parasite that depends on democracy. Democracy offers nutrition to populism, and politicians are tempted to make decisions in favour of the majority to win more votes. Ambitious politicians will sometimes even try to influence public opinion by offering misleading information that, without verification and rational discussion, benefits nothing but their own political agendas.
Although populism can sometimes be corrected by the democratic system itself, it can also hurt people and leave society with long-lasting scars.

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