572. Roots of conservative populism.

 It is a nightmare to see increasing numbers of people getting immersed in conspiracy theories of a vicious elite that is scheming to hurt and enslave the population. Where does this come from?

 Earlier, I noted what I called ‘institutional crowding’ of a government that wants to care and provide for the population too much, out of a misguided notion that this is what democracy is for, and out of fear to lose votes to populist parties. This is encroaching on what Habermas called the ‘life world’ of people, who feel increasing colonised by it. Habermas said something similar

 Habermas said this is what this brings people to come up with a revival of simplistic, conservative, old values of national unity, discrimination, racism, homophobia, exclusion of immigrants, anti-semitism, anti-feminism, and anti-ecology, in a reborn authoritarian regime. What Habermas did not say, is that his is paradoxical, because that would end the social supports that the democratic government is providing, and which many of them depend on. The conspiracy theories serve to hide this paradox, and hide, obfuscate the issue, with their conspiracy theories.

Habermas, 1986, Autonomy and solidarity, interviews edited by P. Dews Suhrkamp.