CLH Discussions: How Do Humanists Rise to the Challenge of Right-Wing Populists?
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Is There a Right-Wing Backlash Against Humanist Values? How Should Humanists Respond to It?
As humanists in the West, we like to think that society and culture are becoming more secular, scientific, enlightened and progressive. But is that true or should we be more concerned?
In the US, Trump threatens to win in 2024, leading an alliance of hard right conservatives and fundamentalist evangelicals intent on pushing a hard-line agenda. And similar movements exist across Europe, holding power or winning elections in countries like Hungary, Poland, Italy, and the Netherlands. Even in Britain we had our own mini Trump until recently.
The rise of right-wing populism arguably challenges all of the values which humanism espouses:
It challenges secularism, describing our societies as intrinsically 'Christian' but without endorsing the more compassionate elements of that faith.
It challenges personal political liberty by undermining democracy: removing the independence of the courts, concentrating media ownership in regime friendly hands and shackling the right to free protest.
It seeks to overturn hard-won human rights gains, such as the reversing of Roe versus Wade by the US Supreme Court. Rhetorical and legislative attacks on gay rights are also underway in some US states.
Its narrow, ethnocentric vision of society is at odds with the progressive humanist universal values which seek to promote tolerance, inclusion and cooperation.
It challenges the very concept of truth based on evidence, posing instead the idea of ‘alternative facts’ where wish thinking and propaganda are treated as equal to truth. It defies the scientific consensus on climate change and Covid.
With their remorseless ‘war on woke’, right-wing populists seek to stoke up culture wars to divide and conquer. They may focus temporarily on specific easily stigmatised groups, but it seems that the ultimate objective is to overturn the entire progressive, Enlightenment project and return us to an authoritarian dark age.
Should we be concerned or is this overstating the case? Are there alternative reasons to feel more confident? Should we, as some suggest, be equally concerned about left-wing populism?
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Date: Thursday 8 February 2024
Time: 7pm - 8:30pm
Venue: Zoom (link will be provided)
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References and Suggested Reading
BBC definition of populism
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-43301423
Rise of right-wing populism in Europe
https://www.politico.eu/article/right-wing-populist-surge-eu-election-policy/
https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-12/why-european-union-may-soak-populist-right-wave
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/01/24/right-wing-populists-could-gain-control-of-eu-parliament-for-first-time-as-voters-swing-ri
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/22/europe/europe-populism-far-right-extreme-intl-cmd/index.html
Rise of right-wing populism in the US
[[https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/6/154] ](%5Bhttps://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/6/154%5D)
[https://doaj.org/article/539e76188e024ebaa2bdbe1fbc1af61b)](https://doaj.org/article/539e76188e024ebaa2bdbe1fbc1af61b))
Right-wing populism and anti-gay rights
In the US
https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/05/02/attack-on-lgbtq-rights-the-politics-and-psychology-of-a-backlash/
CLH Discussions: How Do Humanists Rise to the Challenge of Right-Wing Populists?