Monday, March 27, 2017

Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash by Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris :: SSRN

Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash by Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris :: SSRN



Abstract

Rising support for populist parties has disrupted the politics of many Western societies. What explains this phenomenon? Two theories are examined here. Perhaps the most widely-held view of mass support for populism -- the economic insecurity perspective -- emphasizes the consequences of profound changes transforming the workforce and society in post-industrial economies. Alternatively, the cultural backlash thesis suggests that support can be explained as a retro reaction by once-predominant sectors of the population to progressive value change. To consider these arguments, Part I develops the conceptual and theoretical framework. Part II of the study uses the 2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) to identify the ideological location of 268 political parties in 31 European countries. Part III compares the pattern of European party competition at national-level. Part IV uses the pooled European Social Survey 1-6 (2002-2014) to examine the cross-national evidence at individual level for the impact of the economic insecurity and cultural values as predictors of voting for populist parties. Part V summarizes the key findings and considers their implications. Overall, we find the most consistent evidence supporting the cultural backlash thesis.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Tim Harford — Article — Some things are best left to the technocrats

Tim Harford — Article — Some things are best left to the technocrats

"...democracy has always had a weakness: on any detailed piece of policy, the typical voter — I include myself here — does not understand what is really at stake and does not care to find out..."

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Leiser and Aroch | Lay Understanding of Macroeconomic Causation

The functioning of the economic system is complex and technical. For its part, the public is constantly presented with information on economic causality. It is important for its members to assimilate this information, whether to further their personal goals or to engage advisedly in the democratic process

Κωνσταντίνος Σοφούλης | " Μήπως δεύτερο κύμα λαϊκισμού;"

Εκ των πραγμάτων, τώρα, για κοντύνουμε τον λόγο μας, ας θυμηθούμε ότι ο χώρος της ευρωπαϊκής, μεταρρυθμιστικής κεντροαριστεράς (εγώ επιμένω να την ονομάζω σοσιαλδημοκρατία) απαρτίζεται σήμερα από δύο κόμματα σε κατάσταση ημιδιάλυσης (ΠΑΣΟΚ, ΚΙΔΗΣΟ), ένα εξ ίσου μικρό κόμμα που ψάχνει την ταυτότητά του (ΔΗΜΑΡ) και από ένα αστερισμό κινήσεων διανοουμένων κατ’ ουσίαν, που συγκεντρώνει μεγάλο κομμάτι των ικανότερων στελεχών της κοινωνίας μας. Αυτή είναι πραγματικότητα και η πραγματικότητα δεν αλλάζει με το να την βρίζουμε ή να την απαξιώνουμε με ανόητες ανακοινώσεις.