If the political problems of our time are so easy to fix, why do they persist? Since the populists are unwilling to brook the idea that the real world might be complicated-that solutions might be elusive even for people with good intentions-they need somebody to blame. America (or Great Britain, or France) would be great again.
So long as the pure voice of the people prevails, the reasons for popular discontent-economic, social, even military-will quickly vanish. At bottom, they see politics as a simple game.
Trump in the United States, Nigel Farage in Britain, and Marine Le Pen in France all fervently believe that the solutions to the most pressing problems of our time are much more straightforward than the political establishment would have us believe-and that the great mass of ordinary people instinctively knows what to do. This fear is especially powerful among the populist insurgents who have launched a hostile takeover of the conservative establishment in a number of countries. In fact, it rather neatly encapsulates a crucial trait that unites many right-wing politicians who are otherwise dissimilar: They not only share the nationalist belief that their country is marked for greatness-but also the visceral fear that it is under threat both from internal traitors and external enemies. Trump is an ideological iconoclast, always willing to follow the lowest instincts of his supporters whether they lead him to the left or the proto-fascist right Thatcher was a committed conservative who aimed, first and foremost, to advance her principles.īut, for all of their differences, it is no mere historical oddity that they wound up with much the same slogan. Trump proudly breaks all rules of good behavior Thatcher insisted on the civilizing power of social convention. In style or substance, of course, Margaret Thatcher is nothing like Donald Trump. That particular piece of showmanship was left to another unlikely political upstart, whose infamous slogan is eerily similar, and who also believes that an incompetent government is to blame for leaving his country weak, economically stagnant, and overly hesitant to use its might: Donald J.
Thatcher wore a hat through much of her failed first campaign-though she does not seem to have had the wherewithal to emblazon it with her catchy slogan. In keeping with the fashion of the times, the future Mrs. After years of decline and incompetence under a Labor government, it was “ time to make Great Britain great again.” Her country, the 24-year old political newcomer complained, had become weak: its economy was in tatters, its government too hesitant to exercise its might abroad. Roberts made a big promise to her would-be voters. In the winter of 1950, a young parliamentary candidate by the name of Margaret H.
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