Political parties are often pandering or populist: they pursue policies that are widely known to be ineffective because they think they’ll be popular. Examples can include rent controls, petrol subsidies, various NIMBY initiatives, and much else. Some people vocally complain about this behaviour, and call for less populist parties. Could such parties succeed? At first glance, one might think not. According to this line of thinking, the reason that parties are populist is that it pays off.
Explicit anti-populism
Explicit anti-populism
Explicit anti-populism
Political parties are often pandering or populist: they pursue policies that are widely known to be ineffective because they think they’ll be popular. Examples can include rent controls, petrol subsidies, various NIMBY initiatives, and much else. Some people vocally complain about this behaviour, and call for less populist parties. Could such parties succeed? At first glance, one might think not. According to this line of thinking, the reason that parties are populist is that it pays off.