To be fair to Corby, Dont Know is the most charismatic leader the Liberal Democrats have had for some time.

populism
noun
support for the concerns of ordinary people.

Only the most ultra midget of minds think that posting a dictionary definition of a word is a zinger.

If you dont think populism, given the meaning that word has taken on in common parlance, in day to day politics is a consistent problem, then hello there, want to buy a bridge?

Though it would make perfect sense for you to be a fan of the process that brought Trump to power. Also the process that lead to Europe's biggest war and most evil dictator.

That said, dictionaries can get this right:

a political strategy based on a calculated appeal to the interests or prejudices of ordinary people

So it can mean different things to different people? Who knew.

When I hear ze EU go on about fighting against populism, it feels like high handed sneering at the people they are meant to be serving.

I cant remember the EU saying anything specifically about populism but given the big problems Germany and Italy and other countries had with it during the 30s and 40s, its something to be alert to.

Let X have no definition or ambiguous definition.
Let [bad events in 30s] be labelled X.
Let [some current events] be labelled X.
Therefore argue current events are bad.

This bit of the conversation is going nowhere because 'Populism' has not become a useful phrase, it seems to recently mean any popular opposition idea from any point of view. Perhaps try to rephrase without relying on the word populism?

In the context I used it its meaning is absolutely concrete and the above few posts by are just nitpicking semantics.

the necessary element imo is that populists present themselves as battling against some group or other, on behalf of 'the people'

drumpf - the elites
farage - brussels fat cats
corbs - the few (ie 'for the many, not the few')
duterte - drug peddlers

etc. obv there are key examples through history also, but people are rightly gonna get the ump if i put corbs in the same list as hitler

I think it’s more that they present themselves as battling for an aggrieved social class and by their nature are opportunists. Corbyn doesn’t strike me as opportunistic, given his complete inability to point score on behalf of his ‘people’.

If you do any formal study of democracy, how to protect minorities against majorities is problem 101 with democracy. If 51% of people vote for gingers to all dye there hair, that is a big ethical problem.

This extends to constitutions, all constitutions written for all sorts of groups, unions, co-ops, quangos, NGOs etc will have measures in place to stop a problem called democratic capture, which is basically largest minorities (able to form a voting majority because the vote is split) carrying out policy that is deeply unpopular with the rest of the voting cohort.

Its exactly these types of problems that lead to the constitutional need for the HOL in the first place.

gonna need an army of very well paid consultants to get this to work

Are conservative MPs real people though?

and that he has consistently argued for what he believes is right rather than what is popular or even looks like being popular.

Accusing him in particular of populism for believing in good health care, education, equality etc etc for everyone rather than the privileged few is really pushing it. Sure he holds the right wing responsible for their bad policies - that's just politics.

This is a bit OT but I suppose it has some relevance in terms of Brexit. It's from Yougov and the question was "What are the two top issues facing the EU right now"



*Disclaimer, I never voted in the EU referendum as I didn't feel strongly enough in favour of either option. I would say I was more in favour of remain though, even if it wasn't enough to get me to the polling station.

Corbyn, privately educated massive thickie posho with two Es at A-level who knows no one outside his tiny intimate clique, doesn't believe in any of those things and he never has. He is a Stalinist who believes only in state power, and he is attempting to force a hard Brexit because it will destroy private and government finances and cause a 'crisis of capitalism' enabling a total takeover by the Party (which is no longer Labour). As Orwell said of Party rule in Nineteen Eighty-Four, 'If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- forever.'

Orwell was talking about Stalinists exactly like Corbyn. A class of people he knew very well, because they tried to murder him in Spain.

('I never expected boots to stamp on MY face!' screams person who voted for the Boots Stamping On People's Faces Party.)

Serious question.

How can you not realise what a cool story bro post this is?

Just for the record, believing in "state power" in no way makes you a Stalinist. There are a ton of other qualifiers needed. Just believing in "state power" does not get you over the Stalinist line. Unless of course your mind thinks in tabloid headlines.

Your of course entitled to have opinions that equal fantasy, but there not much use in adult conversation.

I didn't know the book existed. Downloaded it out of curiosity and found myself finishing it in two days between typing out my last law school take home finals.

Nor is spelling 'you're' as 'your' or 'they're' as 'there.'

You mean Preston's book, but as far as I know the definitive book on the case is Rinkagate, by Freeman and Penrose, which I recall having to review for the papers when it came out.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rinkagate-R.../dp/0747533393

The BBC production, going by the trailer, seems to paint Scott as some loud-and-proud standard-bearer for gay rights, which he certainly wasn't, he was a needy and slightly unhinged person engaged in something that looks unpleasantly like blackmail. Not that that makes Thorpe's near-unbelievable behaviour any better.

The best bit of Rinkagate is when Rinka, Scott's Great Dane, lollops up to the incompetent hitman Andrew 'Gino' Newton on the moor, in the darkness, and, as the authors put it, 'he thought he was being attacked by a man-eating donkey.' And, after 'Gino' had shot poor Rinka in panic, his ancient automatic pistol jammed, so, not knowing what else to do and feeling embarrassed, he legged it.

this was very enlightening and not at all deranged or paranoid.

thanks for including the orwell quote, with which i was previously unfamiliar.

All we need to do is to bar people from entering the HOL that have ever ran for some form of party political office (not sure whether it'd be best to limit to MP/MSP/MEP type level or drop lower) or have donated £xk lifetime to a political party

Wat everz, 99% of wat u post is utter fantasy tabloid tosh.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/t...mand/68069-001