It has been a big week for reactionary populists. Bibi won, but Bolsonaro lost. This follows on the heels of Meloni’s victory in Italy, and Le Pen’s near miss in France. What can we conclude from these clearly related events?
Reactionary populism is unquestionably a world-wide–not just an American–phenomenon. Traditional conservatives are being eclipsed by populists all over the world. It is happening in both presidential and parliamentary systems, and in countries with vastly different cultures. So what is the common denominator?
Economic failure–in particular, the impacts of globalization, technological change, and immigration on relatively unskilled male workers. Reactionary populism is, at its root, an economic phenomenon.