The populist deception. Why our countries are going bankrupt and how to rescue them.
Axel Kaiser and Gloria Álvarez
On 30 May 2016, the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised the dialogue "El engaño populista. Why our countries are ruined and how to rescue them" on the occasion of the presentation of the book by the authors Axel Kaiser and Gloria Álvarez, moderated by Carlos Rodríguez Braun.
Axel Kaiser is a Chilean-German lawyer considered one of the most influential liberal intellectuals of the new generation in Latin America. A political analyst, writer and columnist, he is frequently invited as a guest lecturer and interviewed by national and international media. D. in Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg (Germany), he is director of the Friedrich von Hayek Chair at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Santiago de Chile. He is also the executive director of the Fundación para el Progreso, a Chilean think tank of classical liberal inspiration which he founded with local businessmen and which has marked the public debate in his country. Winner of several international awards for his writings, he has been highlighted as one of the most successful young people in Chile by the Diario Financiero, where he is a columnist. He is also a columnist for El Mercurio de Chile and author of several books on politics and economics: El Chile que viene, La miseria del intervencionismo, La fatal ignorancia and the bestseller La tiranía de la igualdad.
Gloria Álvarez is a Guatemalan political scientist who became internationally known with the speech she gave at the Ibero-American Youth Parliament in 2014, where she defended the use of new technologies to curb governments. The video was a viral phenomenon on the internet and has more than one million views. He currently hosts the radio programme Viernes de Gloria and the television programme HDP on the Azteca Guatemala channel. He is also a speaker at many international meetings. This is his first publishing project.
Summary:
On the occasion of the presentation of the book "El engaño populista", the Rafael del Pino Foundation organised a debate on 30 May 2016 between the authors of the book: Axel Kaiser, a Chilean-German lawyer considered one of the most influential liberal intellectuals of the new generation in Latin America, and Gloria Álvarez, a Guatemalan political scientist who became internationally known with the speech she gave at the Ibero-American Youth Parliament in 2014. For Gloria Álvarez, populism begins by inserting hatred into society through the manipulation of language. As a result, the reference to the individual disappears in order to talk about the people, or those who support the will of the government, and the anti-people, or those who are against that will. But who are the people, where do they live, what do they work for? The reality is that the people do not exist, nor do the anti-people. What exist are individuals and everything else is psychological manipulation. Axel Kaiser, in turn, considers that populism has elements of socialism and nationalism. For him there is no difference between fascism, Nazism, communism or populism, because the essence of all of them is anti-liberalism and the idolatry of the state as an entity capable of resolving all things. Populism, however, is not a phenomenon particular to Latin America. Gloria Álvarez points out that what happens in this area is that there are latent needs that cause it to explode more quickly. Here there was already potential for it due to the disenchantment generated by socialist policies, although later the discourse blames the free market in order to try to win votes through psychological and media manipulation. In this sense, Axel Keisler stresses that the novelty of 21st century socialism is to consider democracy as an instrument to develop socialism. Moreover, the discourse is controlled by intellectuals who are basically socialists, because the aim is to build a cultural hegemony. This is possible, says Gloria Álvarez, because of a lack of understanding of how the economy works. Every time there is an economic crisis, the market is blamed, when the real responsibility lies with state intervention. For Axel Kaiser, on the other hand, the cause lies in the prevailing ideas, because they define how we see the world. In Latin America, it is often not possible to use the media to change things because they are owned by or at the service of the government, explains Gloria Álvarez. The only thing left are social networks and the internet, because not even the Chinese government can control the internet one hundred percent. Moreover, adds Axel Keiser, it is not a problem of people's education because often the most educated people are socialists. Worse still, politicians and voters are generally only concerned with the short term. Gloria Álvarez concluded by warning that politicians make short-term promises and never fail to give the impression to the people that it is only a minority who are losing their privileges, but this is bread for today and hunger for tomorrow. And Axel Kaiser added that the promise of Marxism is abundance for all, but it is capitalism that actually delivers.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for the comments, opinions or statements made by the people who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their sole responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the debates held at the meeting held for this purpose at the Foundation and are the responsibility of their authors.
The Rafael del Pino Foundation is not responsible for any comments, opinions or statements made by third parties. In this respect, the FRP is not obliged to monitor the views expressed by such third parties who participate in its activities and which are expressed as a result of their inalienable right to freedom of expression and under their own responsibility. The contents included in the summary of this conference are the result of the discussions that took place during the conference organised for this purpose at the Foundation and are the sole responsibility of its authors.
