On Dec 18, 2007, at 2:26 PM, Juho wrote: > My use of term "populism" is maybe not quite proper English. The > intention is to refer to behaviour where the politician expresses > views that easily get the support of large (maybe not so educated/ > knowledgeable) masses (but are not typically that much appreciated > by the best experts / responsible leaders). Typical extreme themes > might be e.g. "if I'll be elected the taxes of low and mid class > will be cut to half", "if I'll be elected there will be no more > unemployment in 6 months". > > What would be a good term for this kind of political behaviour > (benefiting of popular but not so sensible themes)?
Populism is actually a reasonable term for what you're talking about; it's sufficiently ambiguous. Demagoguery would be the term that has an unambiguously negative meaning, even though its original meaning wasn't necessarily negative. Same dictionary: demagogue a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. • (in ancient Greece and Rome) a leader or orator who espoused the cause of the common people. > > > Juho > > > On Dec 18, 2007, at 22:41 , Jonathan Lundell wrote: > >> On Dec 18, 2007, at 10:58 AM, Juho wrote: >> >>> No parties >>> + less hidden cabinet decisions >>> + free opinions >>> + also minority opinions present >>> +/- less group power (coordinated voting according to majority >>> opinion of the party) >>> - more populism >>> - candidates may tell different stories to different potential >>> voters >>> - different stories in different elections >> >> + more populism >> >> To quote my local dictionary (Oxford American), >> >> populist >> >> a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the >> interests of ordinary people. >> >> • a person who holds, or who is concerned with, the views of >> ordinary people. >> • ( Populist) a member of the Populist Party, a U.S. political >> party formed in 1891 that advocated the interests of labor and >> farmers, free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, and >> government control of monopolies. > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity > and ease of use." - PC Magazine > http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html ---- Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info