ABSTRACT
There is some sense that democracy isn’t working for many people; that the world of big business, high finance, distant government, ‘spinning’ media, unregulated markets, trimmed social protection, digital divides, and greater people migration, is one that leaves sizeable populations voiceless on the margins. In turn, this can induce revolt against conventional politics in a surge for a more authentic and representative form. Equally, it can produce disaffection, apathy, and fatalism. Beyond any such disenchantment, there is a basic dilemma in Western democracy. In many countries, long-standing choice between social democracy and conservatism has been replaced by either semi-permanent managerialist technocracy, or what some see as the enduring ‘shadow government’ of the ‘Goldman Sachs’. Much of populist politics seems to offer the chance for ‘real’ citizens to take back control from the ‘elite’. It contains a vague idea of closely-tied personal and national sovereignty. This chapter unpacks the ambiguities and contradictions involved. It takes a comparative perspective on relevant features such as loss of trust in government that favours politicians who do not sound like politicians. Priority for public compliance and social stability in an uncertain world can undervalue basic tenets of democracy, which ultimately rely on a well-informed electorate. Debate about such values is blighted by escalation of disinformation, blurring the lines between knowledge and belief, and between truth and fiction.
