| | | The success of populism in Western societies has given rise to a wave of academic papers and books that try to explain why populists are succeeding in some countries while failing to gain a foothold in others. Reclaiming Populism: how economic fairness can win back disenchanted voters by Eric Protzer and Paul Summerville introduces a new perspective on populism, with the authors considering it a consequence of economic unfairness. |
'Reclaiming Populism: how economic fairness can win back disenchanted voters’ by Eric Protzer and Paul SummervilleGuest blogger: Analysis and research team of the Council of the European Union How can Western societies’ different experiences with populism be explained? According to Eric Protzer and Paul Summerville, the answer lies in economic unfairness, and one of the central points in their argument is that however much they might disagree with populists’ discourse and proposed solutions, mainstream politicians should not dismiss the legitimacy of the concerns around economic unfairness of citizens who support populists. The authors begin by explaining the shortcomings of dominant theories on the causes of populism. Neither cultural factors – immigration, social media, generational differences – nor economic factors – economic inequality, trade shocks, the global financial crisis – can satisfactorily explain when, where and why populism succeeds. Some of these factors can certainly amplify the success of populism. For others, what appears to be decisive is not so much the factor itself (such as a trade shock) but rather the government’s response to it. According to Protzer and Summerville, contemporary populism is rooted in structural economic unfairness that has been almost half a century in the making. They argue that what matters to citizens is not so much equal outcomes, but rather fair outcomes – even if these are unequal. Public policy regimes that leave citizens vulnerable to economic unfairness are thus more prone to seeing populists succeed. The second chapter develops the concept of economic fairness and its crucial importance for today’s most prosperous societies. Biological evolution gave human beings a fairness instinct, and cultural evolution has promoted fairness above other competing values in the developed world because it critically enables stable and productive cooperation. Unfairness, conversely, can cause societal friction. Fairness implies that the rewards from cooperation are principally divided according to individual contribution. Fairness, therefore, is not the same as equality: in fact, equalising outcomes breaks the relationship between reward and contribution. To prove their point, in the third chapter, Protzer and Summerville show a consistent and statistically significant correlation between low social mobility (an important type of economic unfairness) and the geography of populism. They explain how a high level of social mobility can act as a firewall against illiberal populism. Then, they trace the causal chain leading to populism through the lens of fairness. The authors claim that in developed societies, unfairness exists where there is too much focus on the maximisation of wealth, or, conversely, where aggressive redistribution to enforce equal outcomes creates a situation in which reward does not depend on effort anymore. Chapter 4 discusses how to build a fair economy and reclaim populism based on the twin virtues of equal opportunities and fair but unequal outcomes. In such a society, economic rewards are largely decided by contribution, and fairness is possible. The authors highlight a range of policies that address different aspects of equal opportunities and fair but unequal outcomes, from education and healthcare to regional economic policies and taxation. Finally, the fifth chapter introduces a method for identifying the binding constraints to economic fairness in a given country, exploring the underlying blockages (political, institutional, cultural) that have prevented their correction, and making corresponding policy recommendations. The authors then briefly examine prospective binding constraints to economic fairness in the US, the UK, Italy and France, and suggest policies that could be considered to address those constraints – taking into account cultural and economic sensitivities. To prove their point, the authors distinguish between two clear categories of political parties: populist parties and, diametrically opposed to them, mainstream political parties. There is little scope for considering how in some countries those mainstream parties, while not qualifying as full-blown populist parties, might have taken on some populist features. Whereas this nuance might not be so important for the argument put forward in Reclaiming Populism, it is a very real element of current politics in many Western societies. On another critical note, despite the authors’ caveat that performing a rigorous diagnostic is a very detailed process, when reading the case studies the reader sometimes gets the feeling that the authors are jumping to conclusions, reducing complex political constellations to oversimplified causal relationships. What makes the book worth reading nonetheless is that its theoretical and statistical consideration of the underlying causes of populist success is followed up with concrete suggestions for action by politicians and policymakers. By understanding the roots of economic unfairness, the authors think that ‘policymakers and public leaders can offer credible answers to populist political sentiments – and thereby reclaim them for the liberal democratic project’. That is important not only in terms of addressing current threats from illiberal populism, but also in terms of building up resilience to future challenges to economic fairness. What sticks after having read Reclaiming Populism is the authors’ appeal to take populist voters very seriously and not brand them as a ‘basket of deplorables’ or ‘les gens qui ne sont rien’, but instead earnestly address their grievances, which stem from a sense of lasting and genuine economic unfairness. For this reason, the authors decided to change their working title ‘defeating populism’ to ‘reclaiming populism’. The Council’s Analysis and Research Team had the pleasure of receiving a presentation on Reclaiming Populism by the authors. One of the key questions discussed concerned the fact that the dynamics described in the book, if well managed by mainstream politicians, might prevent populists from taking power – but what should be done if populists are already in power? One might argue that they have no real incentive to address economic unfairness, since this might actually erode their voter base. Whether the poor economic track record of populists will lead voters away from them and back to mainstream political parties remains to be seen. Council Library users may request the book via the online catalogue Eureka. This post does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council. The Council Library reading room is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12.00 to 15.00. The Info Desk remains open online from Monday to Friday. | 
