| DarthMetalliCube said: Hmmm, interesting stuff. I feel as a (mostly) Italian American I should know more about their political system/parties, but I've realized I know next to nothing until reading this lol. Interesting to see what sounds like yet another Trump/Brexit/Le Penn right wing populist situation popping up. I think a lot of it is just the natural swinging of the pendulum in a backlash to liberal/neoliberal politics that have dominated much of the West more or less for several decades, along with the increase of immigration spurring a greater increase of this. |
Speaking as one myself, (US)Americans are just blatantly ignorant about anything political, internationally or otherwise. There is no conception outside of narrow stage managed US political managed infotainment. US is in free-trade zone with Canada and Mexico yet how many Americans know even the most basic contours of those countries' politics since the period of NAFTA? This is irrespective of allegiance to DNC/RNC political "brands", same people who "sympathize" with Mexican immigrants to US can't be bothered to know basic details of politics of Mexico or really care what goes on there, if they support "diversity" in the US that is enough for them.
Americans consider Japan a major democratic country, yet aren't aware it has been ruled by one party nearly continually for 70 years. Same people got excited about carving up Sudan because Clooney told them, and forget about it when they start killing each other, or think how great it is to cry about Rwanda genocide while ignoring US support of Tutsi RPF before, during, and after (excluded from ICTR process specifically designed to only prosecute losing side). (although an interest factoid I found was knowledge of foreign geography tended to correlate with less support for US wars and coups etc... must be why US media is so good at informing it's audience /s)
I don't think one can ascribe Brexit to "right wing populism", during the exact same period the most "left wing" Labour Party in recent time has rocketed in popularity. Casting immigration as over-arching primary issue also seems to be questionable, even if many (both pro/con) find it convenient to focus on that, I don't see that being sole critical issue in either Italy or UK, to the extent it matters is more how it intersects with other issues... i.e. at beginning of EU "refugee crisis" big business bosses openly said "this is good, more cheap labor". What you say re: domination of liberal regime does cut to the matter IMHO, with US historically having most successfully repressed socialist politics, and EU catching up to it. The fixation on (right or left) "populism" seems like ploy to distract from mass *un*-popularity of liberal regime, which has little natural base but has historically allied itself with polarizing causes... e.g. Nazi Germany was not question of alien force suddenly gaining majority, but existing liberal power base deciding to ally with Nazis to get rid of Communists and pull off privatizations etc. Or Cold War alliance vs "Communist Threat". Or Post-Soviet vague hand-waving about "end of history" bla bla.
