this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2024
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Explain Like I'm Five

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Populism is fairly simple, you just parrot the following talking points:

The system isn’t working. I am fighting the system. Elect me and I’ll take the fight to them.

What isn’t working should be as vague as possible, so the voter believes it is the thing they’re angry about. When elected, the candidate should continue to complain about the system and crow about how hard they’re fighting for you, so you keep voting for them.

Unfortunately, this eventually leads to you actually passing legislation that makes everything much, much worse than it was. You can keep blaming the other side, but eventually, the jig is up.