New post: Is Trump a Populist or a Fascist? mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/02/is-t... Populism, unlike fascism, can live with democracy in the sense that populists can be ejected from power. Boris Johnson is no longer UK Prime Minister, and more significantly Poland is no longer run by populists. - ThreadSky

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sjwrenlewis.bsky.social • 10 days ago

New post: Is Trump a Populist or a Fascist?
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2025/02/is-trump-populist-or-fascist.html
Populism, unlike fascism, can live with democracy in the sense that populists can be ejected from power. Boris Johnson is no longer UK Prime Minister, and more significantly Poland is no longer run by populists.

Comments

mlungu.bsky.social•10 days ago

I wonder if the difference between populism and fascism is simply the degree of power? Basically, would Johnson (or any other populist) have looked more like a fascist if he had a multi-billionaire backer with whom he could threaten backbenchers and lords?

agendaforreform.bsky.social•10 days ago

As with most things it’s a matter of degree. Johnson was a liar but despite his egregious behaviour he didn’t attempt to dismantle the democratic state.
Trump is doing just that, he wants to rule like a king without constraint from Congress, the courts or even the Constitution, I call that fascist.

tickyw.bsky.social•9 days ago

Fascism has always been hard to define. Maybe Fascism = Nationalism + Totalitarianism + Imperialism?

Johnson is/was not a Fascist. Trump may well be

tickyw.bsky.social•9 days ago

Subjugation of other peoples/nations and/or ethnic cleansing? I suspect that these are a necessary, but not sufficient, feature of Fascism. Trump wants to liquidate Palestine and to turn Ukraine into a vassal state.

Trump

ruisalgueiro.bsky.social•9 days ago

Typo? "These for pillars" -> "These four pillars"
"and as fascists to the extent" - missing some verb?
Krugman has written Trump is an atypical populist, since populists usually give something material (eg. subsidies or jobs) to their base .

ruisalgueiro.bsky.social•9 days ago

BTW, related to the characterization of populism: "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."-H. L. Mencken

sjwrenlewis.bsky.social•9 days ago

Thanks for these.

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