Special Article
RIDA FATIMA
THE rise of the radical populist right in the West is ascribed to the ideological and political turbulence of the 1980s and its subsequent success is attributed to the profound capability ofthe various political actors to mobilize disenchantment vis-a-vis offering future-oriented alternatives in order to cache political power and capital. The blend of various paradoxical ideas of; anti-statism, neo-isolationism and xenophobia, provides a window into the core of their political objectives. It caters to the needs of both the winners and the losers of the modernization process by garnering a sense of ego-centricism, nationalist separatism and anti-welfarism; which are the by-products of societal fragmentation in the post-industrial era. Although these ideological beliefs stand in contradiction to the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternitywhichwere raised asthethird estate stood in unison to demand their rights of the common brethren during the French Revolution of 1789 yet, hold a strong appeal in the new era of divisions. Hence the electoral success of such right-wing parties in the West sheds light upon its contradictory yet concretemeans of attainment of political ends. On the one hand, they are inclined to the neo-liberal ideas on individualism vis-a-vis a consequential disrespecttothe veryindividual on the basis of racism and xenophobia. And onthe other hand,it employsthe anti-welfarist aspect of classical liberal ideas vis-a-vis the promotion of a cut-throat competition which will, in the long run, lead to a similar state of inequality and fragmentation. These ideas, though paradoxical, are abletomobilizemasses around the world but the question is, how sustainable will the foundation of a society be, if based on this segment of political spectrum? The radical right wing populism is instrumentalized by the charismatic leaders to hold power in the loopholes left open by the current socio-political structure. The high degree of uprootedness of the urban class thus resorts to such concepts to evade a sense of alienation in the fast moving world. This ideological weapon generates reactionary rather than progressive political participation of the people and the trends of right-wing terrorism are apparent by the Christchurch attacks and El Paso Walmart shootings in 2019. There is an artificial inducement and systematic maintenance of anti-immigration mindset in the West. It is believed that the immigrants in Europe are robbing the indigenous people oftheirjobs and deterioratingthe economies of the West. However, the studies conducted by the EMPL Committee of the EU indicate the lack of labour force in the EU which is fulfilled by these immigrants. Thus, the ‘firehose of falsehood’ of the right wing populist leaders lays bare here. Yet, the disenchantment of the masses prevail. Economically,the ruthless market competition propagated by the radical right wing parties shall lead to new inequalities. Socially, it will create community hysteria which as Berterend Russel suggests is the most irrationally aggressive human emotion, hence, giving rise to a new identity crisis. The seeds of racial, ethnic and religious hatred are being sown in the West by the counterproductive strategy of segregation. The hub of democracy is now being tarnished by the tarter of hatred, bigotry and narcissism. This politics of disenchantment in Western Europe shows the shaky foundations of hatred on which the societal edifice is being reconstructed. First and foremost, the open market ideas portrayed by the radical right populists in order to free the people from the state’s created obstrace and to preserve the national and regional identity seem to be in contradiction. Because markets lead to such fluidities which when supersede the state are replaced by corporatism instead of statism. Furthermore, the extremist intoxication is no saviour of identities because neither it can increase the opportunities for the blue-collars nor can it preserve the old politics.All it does is that it buries old inequalities and brings nuanced ones to life. Henceforth, there is a need to revive the ideas of global citizenship. Rather than devising national identity and strength, there appears to be an underlying quest for national prestige and narcissistic identities whose result was observed in the fanatical rise of fascism in the early 20th century. Thus, in order to relinquish such quests theWest and the rest of the world needs to come out of their nationalistic bubble as the boundaries are not as rigid anymore and the ripples of bigotry can generate the war of hatred. —The writer is a freelancer and associated with Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
