The contradictions of populism: reasserting adult education for democracy

• Published in: Andragoška spoznanja
• Main Author: Crowther, Jim
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts 2018
• Subjects: populism; interregnum; democracy; Scottish referendum; populizem; demokracija; škotski referendum; Demean; sami
• Online Access: https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/AndragoskaSpoznanja/article/view/7859; https://doi.org/10.4312/as.24.1.19-34

The context for this paper is the rise of populism across the UK, Europe and the US, a trend which is sweeping western liberal capitalist democracies in particular but also beyond in countries such as Turkey. Populism is used primarily as a derogatory label to demean the poor, working class groups and people with low educational attainment, as not having the experience or capacity to make wise decisions. In the UK this has led to demands for a second referendum on leaving Europe because the ‘will of the people’ was manipulated. It is also claimed that Parliament is sovereign so the decision to exit Europe should be made by its members who are better informed and can legitimately overturn the referendum decision. On the other hand, demagogues of the far right who led campaigns of disinformation and thinly veiled racist vocabulary to sway the Brexit result champion the ‘will of the people’ in disingenuous ways. If we widen our lens, there are also examples of progressive populist politics in Europe, such as Podemos in Spain, which are indicative of a counter-trend to the neoliberal model of globalization. Whilst populism is mainly used as a derogatory label, it can also be framed progressively as a response of the powerless, the poor and the ignored reacting to the limits of liberal democratic institutions in the current context. The election of Trump in the US and the Brexit result in the UK can be understood in these terms too. The repressed, overlooked or denigrated by the political and media elite, have responded at the only opportunity available to them. At the same time, the kind of social purpose adult education which aimed to engage with people in communities, on their own terms, has withered as neoliberal forms of lifelong learning and citizenship transform educational practices into ‘remoralising’ citizens to take care of themselves. In this context adult education and democracy are in crises. However, both crises can be turned towards generating productive synergies which adult educators need to connect with. This presentation seeks to explore and stimulate this debate. Članek je vpet v kontekst vzpona populizma v Združenem kraljestvu, Evropi in ZDA, trendu, ki se še posebej širi v zahodnih liberalnih kapitalističnih demokracijah, hkrati pa sega tudi drugam, na primer v Turčijo. Izraz populizem je v rabi predvsem kot slabšalna oznaka z namenom poniževanja revnih delavskih skupnosti in ljudi z nizko stopnjo izobrazbe, ki naj ne bi imeli niti izkušenj niti sposobnosti za preudarno odločanje. V Združenem kraljestvu je to manipuliranje z »ljudsko voljo« vodilo do zahteve po drugem referendumu o izstopu iz Evrope. Hkrati se pojavljajo trditve, da naj bi o izstopu odločali člani parlamenta, ki so bolj poučeni in lahko upravičeno ovržejo referendumsko odločitev. Po drugi strani pa demagogi skrajne desnice, ki so vodili kampanjo dezinformacij in prikrito rasističnega diskurza, da bi vplivali na rezultat brexita, varljivo podpirajo »ljudsko voljo«. Če pogledamo širše, opazimo tudi primere progresivne populistične politike v Evropi, na primer Podemos v Španiji, ki nakazujejo nasprotni trend neoliberalnemu modelu globalizacije. Populizem, sicer večinoma uporabljen kot slabšalna oznaka, v progresivnem okviru označuje odziv nemočnih, revnih in prezrtih na omejenost liberalnodemokratičnih institucij v sodobnem kontekstu. Izvolitev Trumpa in rezultat britanskega referenduma lahko razumemo tudi v tem smislu. Zatrti, spregledani ali očrnjeni s strani politične in medijske elite so se odzvali ob edini priložnosti, ki jim je bila na voljo. Tisti družbeni element izobraževanja odraslih, usmerjen k povezovanju z ljudmi v skupnostih, pod njihovimi pogoji, je zamrl, neoliberalne oblike vseživljenjskega učenja in državljanstva pa so preoblikovale izobraževalne prakse v »remoraliziranje«, da naj državljani skrbijo sami zase. V tem kontekstu sta tako izobraževanje odraslih kot demokracija v krizi. Vendar pa je obe krizi možno usmeriti k ustvarjanju produktivnih sinergij, čemur se morajo pridružiti izobraževalci odraslih. Namen tega prispevka je raziskati in spodbuditi to razpravo.