Why populists are becoming more popular

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Those who feel left behind by the enrichment of the minority and the stagnation of the many are choosing to be represented by political forces that cannot give them what they need, and will likely make their lives worse.

These political forces are embodied in very different parties and movements, but the reasons for their popularity are frequently based on popular perceptions of governments’ inability or unwillingness to address their problems. These perceptions, however, do not include a considered judgment on the viability of the programmes offered by the anti-establishment parties. They spring from seeing the highest rewards in a globalised world going to the highly educated and the well-connected, while working and middle classes are now fragmented, losing bargaining power and sometimes regarded with scorn for their “incorrect” views.