Nationalism

Populists are opportunists. They seek money and power and cynically analyse the current state of affairs to exploit the situation for their own benefit.

9/11 and the wave of Militant Islam terrorism gave them something to focus on.

The wave of terrorism upset the gentile balance of Western society.

The ensuing ‘War on Terror’ exacerbated the situation, destabilised the Middle East, embroiled the West in a series of nasty wars and radicalised Muslims.

Populists sought to exploit the situation:

1. They seek to harness fear
2. To undermine faith in the establishment/government
3. To provide simple black and white solutions
4. To divide and rule

The fear of Muslims rapidly extended towards all ‘foreigners’ and especially immigrants.

This was relatively easy to tap into. The wars in the Middle East, poverty in Africa and South America, various vicious authoritarian regimes and climate change had created waves of mass migration. Desperate people were fleeing war, oppression, poverty, starvation and drought. Coupled with that the EU open internal borders had created waves of Eastern European migrants eager to take up low-paid work in Britain. Local communities in Britain and the USA felt swamped by large numbers of immigrants. The populists latched on to elements of truth, fears and perceptions and enlarged upon them.

Populists set about exploiting the fears and anxieties of the endemic population:

1. We were being overrun
2. Our culture was being displaced
3. The immigrants were receiving preferential treatment with hotels, housing and jobs
4. Criminals, rapists, drug runners and terrorists were flooding into the country
5. We were going to be taken over by militant Muslims
6. We were becoming second-class citizens in our own country
7. We were being displaced
8. Xenophobia and Racism were deployed
9. Dissatisfaction with the incumbent political parties was ramped up
10. Experts were discredited

While race, religion and immigration were the initial fodder of populists the field of discontent was rapidly expanded to include conspiracies and the environment. Then covid raised its head.

1. The economy was poor because government was corrupt
2. Scientists and experts lied and were in the pay of government
3. The media was all fake
4. Covid was exaggerated for political reasons
5. Global warming was fake
6. Vested interests from a corrupt ruling elite was responsible for covid, global warming and globalisation.

Populists seized upon any discontent or fear and exaggerated it. Once the seeds had been sown it was necessary to hammer away at it. Immigrants, fake news, corruption, vaccination, lock downs, oil and gas, global warming – all was rubbish.

The case was being made: the ordinary working people are suffering because of the vested interests of globalist elites. Action needs to be taken:

1. Drain the swamp
2. Put national interests first
3. Built a wall against immigrants
4. Brexit
5. Bring back old industries
6. Do away with laws on pollution and safety
7. Deport
8. Reassert cultural values
9. Debunk global warming
10. Debunk vaccination
11. Defund science
12. Defund experts
13. Defund education
14. Tariffs
15. Undermine and withdraw from all alliances and global institutions – NATO, UN, WHO etc.

The simplistic solutions completely overlooked the complexities and interconnections of global trade, economics and geopolitics. But that didn’t matter.

Once you realise that Populists, like Trump and Farage, are in the least bit interested in solving problems. They are only interested in gaining power and becoming wealthier (with more than a dash of narcissistic pleasure at being popular).

The sad thing is that immigration, corruption, global warming and poverty are real. There are huge issues to be solved. They cannot be solved overnight. The real tragedy is that populist policies will never solve the problems.

1. You cannot solve mass immigration with walls
2. You cannot bring back old polluting industries
3. You cannot cling on to outdated technology
4. You don’t solve corruption by putting bigger crooks into power
5. You don’t solve the climate crisis by drilling
6. You don’t remove poverty by giving tax cuts to the wealthy and cutting welfare and aid
7. You don’t stop wars by kow-towing to tyrants
8. You don’t increase prosperity with trade wars and isolation

Short-term solutions result in bigger long-term problems.

Then there are the distractions designed to prevent people focussing on the real problems:

1. A war on woke
2. A war on diversity
3. Family values
4. Women’s rights

Look for reasons to divide and anger. Empower extreme groups – evangelicals, white supremacists, QAnon, Nazis, NRA. Harness their power to create chaos and feed dissent.

Exploit the fog of hate and fear.

Harness the media – particularly social media – to spread propaganda. Spread the idea that all mainstream news is fake news. Nothing can be believed. The only truth is on the web and through certain conspiracy sites like Alex Jones, and then GB News, Fox News and Truth Social. Everything else is lies.

Deflect blame on to environmental groups, Antifa, scientists, experts, liberals – they are all spreading fake news.

Create your own cult.

Claim to be the alternative to failed political parties – the party for real change.

It’s all bollocks.

Farage and Trump are busy fuelling discontent for their own ends. They are greedy bastards in it for themselves. Money and power are their only motives.

We are being used!!