How US and European Populisms Differ: Conversation with Sheri Berman

Sheri Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College, and the author of several books, including Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day and The Primacy of Politics: Social Democracy and the Making of Europe's Twentieth Century. In this interview, she explains why populism in the US is more dangerous than in Europe, and why the Left has gone into longterm decline.

[@Goldfinger140]

I have the impression that the battle between The Right and The Left is a thing of the past. Traditionally The Right represents a traditional point of view. „Things are as they are and lawmaking has to align with it“ whereas The Left‘s traditional point of view is „the conditions we are living in is the result of lawmaking and we form the world by making laws in the way we, the people, want“. Today nobody in his right mind seriously thinks that lawmaking has to abide to a divine order. I remember these discussions in Germany from my childhood „Rape in marriage can’t be a crime since intercourse was a marital obligation anyway“, „Should women work? They take away the workplaces from men.“, „Women need approval from their husbands if the take up work“ etc., etc. but that’s a thing of the past. On the other side, I never saw a Worker. I mean a member of that deprived majority of society having to spend their life and health working endlessly for marginal pay, squalid housing and their children being deprived of education. The Left might have a history of representing The Workers, but today they represent ordinary house owners and car owners having house owners and car owners needs. My impression is that the center has absorbed the parliamentary left and right. Which left both The Left and The Right with no clear political profile. The antagonism of left and right has been dissolved in the center and gave way to a new antagonism between Realists and Idealists. There the productive discussions of today take place. Additional to the transformation of the center a huge political milieu of Clowns has formed at the fringes (in the US these fringe ideas are eating the center). The political ideas of the Clowns can‘t be explained by any rational thinking. They are more motivated by psychological drivers and political marketing. Why does such a large part of an otherwise rich society sees its future in Clown ideas?

[@matsa2620]

Yes, demonizing is not a way forward.

[@peterfranks6446]

Nor of Putin, Trump or anyone else she gets into demonising. She is still trapped in her cosmopolitan arrogance. Good Frankly was there!

[@freakmusicaddict]

well yes but also sometimes you have to call a duck a duck

[@mollyclark6068]

Appreciate your ending definition of "liberal" as implying tolerance. Sadly missing in the U.S. these days, given identity politics on both Left and Right.

[@Ikarus2985]

If I remember correctly I heard a guest LECTURE (Eugen Kogon-lecture) of Ms. Berman 2021 at TU Darmstadt. Thank you for the contribution! Greetings from Germany!

[@charlesmain9938]

Where is the well-deserved criticism of the Democratic Party which like the R party is fully in thrall to powerful economic interests, the elephant now fully occupying the political (and academic) room and the cause of the rise of populism.

[@patrickvernon4766]

I want to make this women’s nightmare come true

[@letdaseinlive]

It's sad that she thinks being Russian is "absurd". 😢

[@ppwalk05]

She avoid any discussion of how those 'social and cultural issues' are interwoven with economic interest of working people. Environmentalism has huge opportunity costs to working class people and their purchasing power. The replacing of merit with 'equity' as the primary determinant (at least stated) of career advancement. The relationship between immigration and economic well being for the working class, which is often spuriously stated to be positive across the board. Also how often she says 'low educated' and the tone in which she says reveals a lot...