ABSTRACT
The term 'charisma' traces its origins to the New Testament, where it refers to a person with divine powers manifested in a capacity to prophesize, to heal, or to speak in tongues. Charismatic leadership and demagoguery are close cousins. Typically, the demagogue identifies himself with popular and patriotic symbols and names and vilifies those whom he identifies as the enemies of the nation and its people. Populism, like charisma, has come to have a broader meaning. The term is now used to describe any politician who tailors his appeal to less educated voters at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. The easiest way to understand the meaning of celebrity is to begin with the idea of fame. By fame, we mean being widely and positively known. Although analytically distinct, the concepts of charisma and demagoguery have this in common: both focus on the singular leader as the answer to individual and national problems.
