The Left need to realise their role in the rise of the Right

In Brazil, right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro was recently elected president. I’d be lying if I said I had followed the Brazilian elections at all, but I did take interest in the news and social media coverage afterwards. All the news outlets referred to Bolsanaro as “far-right”, a “fascist”, a “populist”, and some even compared him to Hitler. Social media was rife with comments about how a dark cloud had fallen over the country and how people had to resist to ensure that division didn’t win.

Does that sound familiar at all? Well, cast your mind back to recent elections in America, France, Italy, Sweden – you name it  – the right and far-right have made gains there. In addition to the usual characterisation of the right, there’s another striking similarity across all of these countries: the left simply cannot understand why it is losing support. Perhaps most importantly, it also doesn’t seem that interested in trying to figure it out.

The left simply cannot understand why it is losing support…it also doesn’t seem that interested in trying to figure it out

We’ve reached the stage where the terms ‘Nazi’ and ‘fascist’ are frequently bandied about as a response to pretty much any political disagreement to the point that they’ve almost become meaningless. But that’s still the left’s approach: there can be no argument, because failing to agree with them means you must be bigoted or ignorant. They are the arbiters of acceptable speech and failing to conform with their ideas means your opinion has no value. Questioning any aspect of their views is considered hateful, and the idea of there being any nuance or complexity to an issue falls by the wayside. Challenge them further and anger is normally the response you’ll get.

Look at the response to the PPE Society’s postponed Anne Marie Waters talk on campus – the very idea of her speaking is equated to spreading hate. The president of Pride told The Boar that their exec “questioned why PPE Society would want to host a far-right politician in the first place, [as] we feel her opinions are abhorrent.” I can’t claim that I support Waters, but debate is important in a democracy: the best way to tackle any issue is to discuss it and figure it out. However, by implying some opinions are objectionable and not even worth being heard, you’re cutting anyone who shares those opinions and concerns right out of the discussion. This seems to be increasingly what is happening.

The left is focusing on insular issues that are unimportant to a large majority of people, yet they are surprised when voters look elsewhere

Studies have shown that the traditional left-wing base of the working class and the poor is heading towards the right. The modern left is more likely to be comprised of the middle class and the university educated. I don’t find terms such as ‘identity politics’ and ‘victim politics’ to be very significant, but based on its new voter core, this seems to be the niche the left is insistent on occupying (much to its own detriment). The left is focusing on insular issues that are unimportant to a large majority of people, yet they are surprised when voters look elsewhere.

It is a crucial point in politics, and now is the time for the left to take a long hard look at itself and think about how it responds to the issues facing it. I don’t lean left on many issues (and I certainly don’t want to claim that the right is bereft of any issues of its own), but healthy politics requires both sides of the equation. Part of that involves listening and not dismissing anyone who disagrees as an ignorant bigot. However, the key issue is figuring out their actual purpose: what does the modern left want to be?

The right is on the rise throughout the world because whether you agree with them or not, they are standing for something – the poor, the ignored, those left behind in an increasingly globalised world – and they’re not shy about it. It’s time for the left to find a voice that isn’t just an angry anti-right movement and one which doesn’t openly scorn the people who support it. Otherwise, they will be doomed to the political wasteland for generations to come and, worse for them, they will still fail to understand why.