I favor “freedom conservatism” over “national conservatism” because the former is unambiguously based on liberty and the latter veers toward populism.
Of course, it’s never easy to define populism. My shorthand definition is that a populist is someone who exploits economic ignorance to push policies that sound appealing to voters in the short run (such as protectionism, industrial policy, or class warfare) but do economic damage in the long run.
So I was very interested to see that three German economists (Manuel Funke, Moritz Schularick, and Christoph Trebesch) authored some research about populism and economic policy for the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Just in case some readers are pressed for time, the biggest takeaway from their study is that populism leads to less prosperity – as captured by Figure 4.
Their study looks at both left-wing populists and right-wing populists. Both versions produce negative economic consequences.
Though Figure 6 shows that leftist populists seems to do more damage than rightist populists.
Here are some highlights from their findings.
A core empirical challenge is to identify populist leaders. Our database on populists in power is the most ambitious exercise to classify populist leaders to date, spanning more than 100 years and 60 large countries. …According to today’s workhorse definition, populism is defined as a political style centered on the supposed struggle of “people vs. the establishment”…Populists place the narrative of “people vs. elites” at the center of their political agenda… In the empirical analysis, we use a variety of different empirical strategies that all paint a similar picture: populism has large economic costs. Over 15 years, GDP per capita and consumption decline by more than 10% compared to a plausible non-populist counterfactual. Moreover, despite their claim to pursue the interests of the “common people” against the elites, the income distribution does not improve on average. …we also look at other outcomes and present evidence that economic disintegration, unsustainable macro policies, and the erosion of institutions typically go hand-in-hand with populism. Trade and financial integration falls, suggesting that populists often deliver on their promises of fostering economic nationalism and protectionism
If you’re wondering which politicians are populists, here’s their list.
I don’t have any objections to the politicians listed above, but if populists are politicians who gain power by whipping up antagonism against the “establishment” and the “elite,” then why isn’t Franklin Roosevelt on the list?
Or how about Brazil. I can understand Bolsonaro being included, but why not Rousseff or Lulu?
Moreover, why not include every socialist government, most of which usually gain power after campaigning on class-warfare agendas?
I could list other examples, but let’s return to the study and share more of the findings. Unsurprisingly, populist governments are associated with more debt and more inflation.
All of which confirms my shorthand definition that populists do things that seem popular in the short run (spend money and print money) but do damage in the long run.
P.S. I can’t resist asking whether Argentina’s new libertarian president is a populist. Javier Milei definitely campaigned against the establishment and the elite, so he presumably qualifies. However, his agenda is to shrink the burden of government (and he’s doing a good job so far), which is contrary to the statist agenda of the politicians analyzed in the study.
The globalists’, collectivists’ and elitists’ threats to western civilization nations…..
“All foreign & domestic globalists, collectivists & elitists are enemies of humanity disguising themselves as benevolent humanitarians!…..Wolves in sheep’s clothing!……
-Globalists want to eliminate or subjugate nation-states citizens’ sovereignty to international laws, treaties & edicts!….Think “Paris climate accords”, “Green New deal”, “U.N. Agenda 21/30”, “U.N. Small Arms Treaty”, WHO plandemic treaty, Council on Foreign Relations, WEF(World Economic Forum), Club of Rome, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Joe Biden administration, Trudeau, Bill Gates, John Kerry(“climate czar”), George Soros, Klaus Schwab “Great Reset”, Yuval Harari, Rockefeller foundation, periodic meetings in Davos Switzerland participants, open borders, etc.(not intended to be a complete list).
I will also argue that it is the globalists’(plural) goal to flood America & Europe with unlimited, unrestricted, overwhelming, unvetted, weaponized, “mob rule” illegal immigration…..
-Collectivists are anti-individual liberty, anti-human rights, who subscribe to & want to impose some or all of the following authoritarianisms on the rest of us: socialism, marxism, communism and/or fascism.
-Elitists are full of condescending, narcissistic, “delusions of grandeur” arrogance believing they are better, smarter, more “ivory tower” educated than everyone else & therefore have the “divine right of kings” to rule over, bully, & dictate to the “ignorant peasants”, “useless eaters”, “peons” & “flyover country” Americans…..
-Globalists, collectivists & elitists are select persons, politicians, groups, organizations & governments.……
-All the above are enemies of Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, & Bill of Rights!…..
-Often they will use crises (plural), whether real, imagined, contrived, fabricated, manufactured, hyperbolized, or deliberately engineered to expand, centralize & consolidate control over us! …Think “Hegelian Dialect” strategy, “Cloward-Piven” strategy, or “Saul Alinsky” strategy! (Internet search it!)…terribly evil intentions!…exploiting “anthropogenic climate change” narrative, “plandemic” or some other deliberately deceptive, manipulative, fear inducing hobgoblin to further their thinly veiled, sociopathic political agenda, erode your freedoms & confiscate more of your hard earned money!….
-Take a look at the entire world around you. Awaken!…Become keenly aware, suspicious & vigilant of those who fit these descriptions: foreign & domestic globalists, collectivists & elitists. Wolves in sheep’s clothing!…Expose them. Call them out on it to their faces & deny them the levers of power as if your freedoms, human rights(life, liberty, & property) depend on it, because it absolutely does!
Western civilization nations are under insidious, subversive political, economic, cultural & ideological attack….don’t let them get away with it unchallenged folks!”
……”The urge to save humanity is almost always the false-face to rule it.”
-H.L. Mencken
……”Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!”
-Leonardo Da Vinci
…..”There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”
-Henry David Thoreau