Drawing parallels between the current state of the world and the rise of fascism in the 1930s has its limits. Nevertheless, the contagious fascination with populist and authoritarian leaders is reminiscent of that era. In this case, when populations are more receptive to the mirage of a radical recovery of the social order. A trend that can be observed when there is a feeling of insecurity or the painful impression that society is falling apart and that nothing is going well. It is in this context that narcissistic crackpots like Hitler, Mussolini, Trump, Milei and others are rising to prominence. Their strength? Excelling in the art of amplifying this perception of social chaos.
From then on, under the cover of seemingly virtuous ideologies and the supposed urgency to act, they are making democratic processes suffer. Objective reflection, listening, debates and under-weighed decisions on both sides seem too laborious, even sterile or idealistic. They give way to simplistic solutions that find many followers, and which end up inexorably favoring a minority concerned only with its own interests. Especially if it manages to channel the ambient frustration on a target other than its reprehensible acts. Unfortunately, ignorance or blindness with regard to the exactions of past and current authoritarian regimes too often obliterate awareness of the excesses that result from the sidelining of individual and collective rights.
As the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the use of soothing and sweeping slogans by populists who claim to work for the good of the people should arouse suspicion. As should reductive and insidious ideas such as the return to a supposed greatness, the need to erase the humiliation suffered in the past, the supposed external threats and manipulations, the identity or purity of the “race” undermined, the salutary restoration of the morality of yesteryear, the lifting of so-called useless economic or environmental constraints. Although imperfect and demanding, democracy is nevertheless based on nobler and more altruistic aspirations, including respect for human life and the well-being of the greatest number.
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