Left populism

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Left populism describes a populism that tends towards the political left and is committed to social equality , social justice , peace , redistribution and more democracy . Chantal Mouffe , a theoretician of left-wing populism, explains that left-wing populism “aims to establish a political front line between 'the people' and 'the oligarchy'.” Against the background of the social democratic involvement of the labor movement, populist sections of the political left rely on them Protest culture by Vox populi , in order to counteract the consensus democracy without alternatives and the dominant capitalist financial elite, which, in the opinion of many leftists, are increasingly undermining representative democracy ( post-democracy ). The term is controversial in political science and is mainly used as a counter-term to the widespread term of right-wing populism . In contrast to xenophobic right-wing populism, left-wing populism can be described as “inclusive populism”.

term

definition

Many political scientists only accept the term populism as a colloquial, partisan term. The two scientists Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe , who teach in England, are considered to be weighty theorists of left-wing populism, although they use the word as a term for their political strategy and not as a scientific term. For them, left-wing populism is not just a question of political style, but also of left-wing political strategy: With it, they denote the departure from the “myth of communism as a transparent and reconciled society” and from the working class as the privileged subject of social change. Mouffe explains the left-wing populist strategy as follows: "A left-wing populism must bundle a large number of heterogeneous democratic demands, anti-racist, ecological, etc., and strive to crystallize a collective will that is supported by shared affects." Chantal Mouffe and her co-author Ernesto Laclau were among the key drivers of the global Occupy movement and new left-wing party foundations such as Podemos in Spain, Syriza in Greece and La France insoumise in France.

For the political scientist Tim Spier , left-wing populism is an " ideological orientation" of populism . In the Western European countries of the European Union , the opposite term right-wing populism is particularly widespread. Many left parties are adapting a left-wing populist political style. Spier sees left-wing populism as a “historical as well as currently discoverable phenomenon”.

In the opinion of political scientist Dieter Nohlen, left- wing populism promises "blessing [...] and combating grievances, propagates [...] more the state or, after the neoliberal experience, the return of the state as the central distribution authority".

According to the political scientist Florian Hartleb (2004), left-wing populism tries "in antagonism to the establishment, to reactivate the progressive, egalitarian, solidary and rebellious sediments of the everyday mind of the masses." It distinguishes between "vertical" and "horizontal" populism. The establishment is questioned vertically, horizontally left-wing populism paints various enemy images: “Fascists, capitalists and multinational corporations”.

Demarcation

Left populism is differentiated from both social democracy and left-wing extremism . All terms are assigned to the political left . Social democracy is essentially based on the value concept of post-materialism . In contrast, left-wing extremism rejects the constitutional state with its constitutional and democratic order. Overlaps exist between social democracy and left-wing populism in the pragmatic elements. Social democratic politicians, for example, sometimes use populist methods, even though left-wing populism focuses on political protest . Left-wing populists can also pursue left-wing extremist or post-communist goals at the same time . They are very close to the New Left , but do not share the ideas of tolerance and acceptance with them . Populism lacks the intellectual component and rather pursues an anti-elitist agenda.

For the political scientist Viola Neu (2003), left-wing populism is primarily a question of political style: "Left-wing parties are classified more according to their political nucleus (ecological, socialist, social democratic) than according to their political style (populist)".

The accusation of populism plays a major role in the political debate. The social democratic politicians Josef Korsten (1985) and Peter Glotz (1989) spoke about left-wing populism as early as the 1980s. The sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf stated in 2003: "In view of what is usually described as globalization, there is also such a thing as left-wing populism." However, according to Dahrendorf, the use of the swear word "populism" is often itself populist.

Core issues

The core theme of left populism is the "restoration and deepening of democracy" with the aim of radical social redistribution. The instrument for this is the state power conquered through elections: “A hegemonic transition must take place without questioning the institutions of the democratic regime.” Left-wing populism as a popular movement also picks up on various social movements that turn against the hegemony of neoliberalism - for example pacifism, criticism of globalization and anti-Americanism.

Due to the social inequality in the world, regulative interventions in the world economy are required in the sense of social justice . These include anti-monopoly measures and changes to the tax system . Government-enforced public sector privatizations are criticized. Many left-wing populists stir up social fears and have put together a broad catalog of demands .

history

Left populism sees itself as a political project that can weld different cultures of protest together through "the demands of workers, immigrants and the middle class threatened with decline, as well as other democratic demands, such as those of the LGBT community," said Chantal Mouffe. Left- wing populism expressly rejects the anti-state positions of the socialist , communist and anarchist labor movements . No populist party in Europe or Latin America advocates the concept of the Soviet republic .

Since the economic and financial crisis of the 2000s, left-wing populist parties with their criticism of neoliberalism have gained particular popularity or new ones have emerged.

The new forms of left-wing populism (as well as right-wing populism) must be understood in the context of media change. In contrast to classic populist movements, the new ones can get by without a leadership figure and without central media; they rely heavily on decentralized social networks for their communication. Much of what was considered normal displeasure among the population in earlier decades can be publicly articulated in the digital media world as “populist” protest.

distribution

Left populism in Europe

Greece (2015–2019) and Italy (since 2018) have had special experiences with left-wing populist parties in power. The Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and other Syriza activists studied in England and were heavily influenced by the populism theorist Ernesto Laclau. Neither the ministers of Syriza nor those of Movimento 5 Stelle apparently had an idea how the “neoliberal hegemony” in the state apparatus could be broken in the sense of their left-wing populist theory. These left-wing populist parties owed their popularity and electoral success in particular to the polemics against the EU's debt regime. The Greek and Italian governments influenced by them ultimately submitted to the EU conditions because they assessed the risks of leaving the EU as higher. The Italian five-star movement combines populist elements with a strong charismatic leader. The comedian Beppe Grillo is referred to internally as the leader mediatico . After one year of the government alliance, the 5-star movement has clearly lost its popularity and has switched to a coalition with the social democratic party Partito Democratico, which had been spurned until then . In an interview in autumn 2019, Chantal Mouffe was asked about the failure of the left-wing populist strategy in Greece and Italy, when she placed her hopes on Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn .

In the Eastern European countries, some ruling parties have developed strong left-wing populist traits. Miloš Zeman , the former leader of the Czech Social Democrats and President since 2012, is widely referred to in the media as a left-wing populist. In Slovakia applies Smer-SD of Robert Fico and in Lithuania Darbo partija of Viktor Uspaskich as a left populist.

In France, for example, the entrepreneur Bernard Tapie made left-wing populist demands with his Parti radical de gauche (PRG) in the 1990s. In 2017 Jean-Luc Mélenchon ran for his left-wing populist movement La France insoumise as a presidential candidate. Emile Roemer , head of the Dutch Socialist Partij , is also often referred to as a left-wing populist.

Oskar Lafontaine (2012)

After the political change, Germany had a party with “left-wing populist outlines” with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), according to Florian Hartleb, and according to Cas Mudde is “one of the few remaining and successful left-wing populist parties”. The political scientist Franz Walter and others count Oskar Lafontaine and Gregor Gysi among the left-wing populist protagonists of the successor party Die Linke . According to Frank Decker , the party Die Linke (or the predecessor organizations Die Linkspartei.PDS and WASG) could be described as left-wing populist from 2005 to 2009 during Lafontaine's term of office.

In Austria , the Now - List Pilz - founded by the former Green politician Peter Pilz - is considered a left-wing populist party.

Left populism in Latin America

In Latin America , due to its colonial history, populism often has "left" and anti-imperialist features - it is not only in Cuba that it is about liberation from the oppressive US hegemony. South American populism feeds on the protests of the poor population, who hope that a strong state will take measures against the neo-colonial exploitation of their work. The history of South America also knows some narcissistic power people with great sense of mission, charismatic leaders with an anti-oligarchic discourse. The parliamentary-democratic traditions adopted by the colonial powers have little anchoring or credibility. Countries ruled at least at times by left-wing populist politicians include Ecuador , Argentina , Bolivia and Venezuela . The late President Hugo Chávez (his successor is Nicolás Maduro ) initially introduced a participatory or protagonist democracy in Venezuela . The established circles and councils led to a politicization of the population. Later he set himself the goal of socialism. According to observers, there was a reduction in the number of grassroots democratic elements due to his personality cult . Despite the immense oil wealth, left-wing populism led the country into a deep economic and political crisis.

See also:

literature

Monographs and edited volumes

Contributions to edited volumes

  • Frank Decker : Germany: Right-wing Populist Failures and Left-wing Successes . In: Daniele Albertazzi, Duncan McDonnell (Eds.): Twenty-First Century Populism. The Specter of Western European Democracy . Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-230-01349-0 , pp. 119 ff.
  • Frank Decker: From protest phenomenon to permanent political phenomenon: Right and left populism in Western Europe . In: Uwe Backes , Alexander Gallus , Eckhard Jesse (Eds.): Yearbook Extremism & Democracy , Volume 27 (2015), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2015, ISBN 978-3-8487-2522-9 , pp. 57-72 .
  • Frank Decker, Florian Hartleb: Populism on difficult terrain. The right and left challenging parties in the Federal Republic . In: Frank Decker (Ed.): Populism. Danger to Democracy or Useful Corrective? VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-531-14537-1 , p. 191.
  • Gerrit Voerman: Left-wing populism in comparison. The Dutch Socialist Partij (SP) and the German Left . In: Friso Wielanga, Florian Hartleb (ed.): Populism in modern democracy. The Netherlands and Germany in comparison . Waxmann, Münster a. a. 2011, ISBN 978-3-8309-2444-9 , p. 179 ff.

Technical articles

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chantal Mouffe, For a Left Populism, p. 16
  2. ↑ Cas Mudde / Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser (2013).
  3. ↑ Helmut Dubiel, Das Gespenst des Populismus, in: Merkur 39 (438), 1985
  4. ↑ Chantal Mouffe, Populism can be progressive Interview in the taz from 10.10.2018, accessed on 226.6.2020
  5. ↑ a b Tim Spier : Modernization loser? The electorate of right-wing populist parties in Western Europe . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-531-17699-4 , p. 22 ff. (Chapter 1.1.2: Populism, right-wing populism, left-wing populism)
  6. ^ Dieter Nohlen : Populism . In: Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz (Hrsg.): Small Lexicon of Politics . 4th edition, CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-51062-5 , p. 448.
  7. ↑ Florian Hartleb : Right and left populism. A case study based on the Schill Party and PDS . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften , Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-531-14281-X , p. 170 ( limited preview in Google book search - also dissertation TU Chemnitz, 2004).
  8. ↑ Florian Hartleb : Right and left populism. A case study based on the Schill Party and PDS . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften , Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-531-14281-X , p. 145 ff . ( limited preview in the Google book search - additional dissertation TU Chemnitz, 2004).
  9. ↑ Viola Neu: The PDS. A populist party? In: Nikolaus Werz (Ed.): Populism. Populists overseas and Europe . Leske and Budrich, Opladen 2003, ISBN 3-8100-3727-3 , p. 263.
  10. ^ Josef Korsten: Right-wing populism and neo-conservatism in today's USA . Dissertation, TH Aachen, 1985.
  11. ^ Peter Glotz: The German Right. A polemic . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-421-06517-9 , p. 40.
  12. ↑ a b Ralf Dahrendorf: Eight Notes on Populism . In: Transit (2003), 25, p. 159.
  13. ↑ Chantal Mouffe, For a Left Populism, p. 14
  14. ↑ Michael Thöndl : Introduction to Political Science: From the Ancient Polis to International Terrorism. Ideas - actors - topics . Böhlau, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-205-77245-8 , p. 201.
  15. ↑ Florian Hartleb : Right and left populism. A case study based on the Schill Party and PDS . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften , Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-531-14281-X , p. 166 ff . ( limited preview in the Google book search - additional dissertation TU Chemnitz, 2004).
  16. ^ A b Frank Decker : From the phenomenon of protest to permanent political phenomenon: Right and left populism in Western Europe . In: Uwe Backes , Alexander Gallus , Eckhard Jesse (eds.): Yearbook Extremism & Democracy , Volume 27 (2015), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2015, ISBN 978-3-8487-2522-9 , pp. 57-72 , here: p. 59.
  17. ↑ cf. Communication without social control . In: Klaus Wolschner, When the rabble comes online: About old and new forms of media democracy . Verlag epubli, Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-7529-4872-1 .
  18. ↑ Chantal Mouffe , The bet on left-wing populism. Chantal Mouffe on the crisis of neoliberal hegemony and the competition between right-wing populism and radical democracy In: IPG-Journal August 28, 2019, accessed June 28, 2020
  19. ↑ Left- wing populist Zeman becomes Czech President . Welt Online , January 26, 2013.
  20. ^ Stefan Heinlein: Election decided - Land split ( Memento from January 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). tagesschau.de , January 26, 2013.
  21. ↑ Shimmering left-wing populist . In: taz , January 26, 2013.
  22. ↑ Eckhard Jesse , Tom Thieme (ed.): Extremism in the EU states . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-17065-7 . P. 349.
  23. ^ Marianne Kneuer : Democratization through the EU. South and East Central Europe in comparison . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 978-3-531-15077-2 , p. 315.
  24. ↑ Jutta Sommerbauer: Lithuania: The comeback of the "cucumber king" Viktor Uspaskich . In: Die Presse , October 15, 2010.
  25. ↑ Gerhard Gnauck: In the Baltic States, the old ailments threaten to return . In: Die Welt , November 23, 2012.
  26. ^ Reinhard Wolff: Alliance in the small war . In: taz , November 23, 2011.
  27. ↑ Sascha Lehnartz : "Nobody wants to be German" . In: Die Welt , June 10, 2013.
  28. ↑ Michael Wiegel: The circle closes at the extremes . In: FAZ , May 12, 2012.
  29. ↑ Peter Riesbeck: Dutch Overture . In: Berliner Zeitung , May 25, 2012.
  30. ↑ Social Democrats in Crisis: Job Cohen gives up . In: Die Presse , February 21, 2012.
  31. ↑ Kerstin Schweighöfer: The Netherlands: "Wilders has rightly screwed it up" . In: Der Standard , September 10, 2012.
  32. ↑ Florian Hartleb : Right and left populism. A case study based on the Schill Party and PDS . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften , Wiesbaden 2004, ISBN 3-531-14281-X , p. 283 ( limited preview in the Google book search - additional dissertation TU Chemnitz, 2004).
  33. ^ Cas Mudde : Radical parties in Europe . In: From Politics and Contemporary History , 47/2008 ( online ).
  34. ^ Franz Walter: Left Populism: Aging as a Chance , SPON , May 31, 2006.
  35. ^ Tilman Mayer: Left populism as a challenge . Konrad Adenauer Foundation , August 2008 ( PDF ).
  36. ↑ Frank Decker : From right to left populism - and back . In: Berliner Republik , 4/2005.
  37. ↑ Peter Pilz: The rich man. July 5, 2017, accessed June 12, 2019 .
  38. ↑ Peter Pilz: They call the Boris Palmer of Austria "poison mushroom" - WELT. Retrieved June 12, 2019 .
  39. ↑ 29.06.2017 | 18:45: The Pilz Party: Left list with criticism of Islamism. Retrieved June 12, 2019 .
  40. ↑ ida.metzger: Peter Pilz: The last green founding father is leaving . Retrieved June 12, 2019 .
  41. ^ A b Carlos de la Torre: Populism in Latin America. Between democratization and authoritarianism . Friedrich Ebert Foundation , August 2013 ( PDF ).
  42. ↑ Thomas Jäger : The Complexity of Wars. Global society and international relations . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-531-17311-5 , p. 156.