Title: A Populist Paradox
Headings: A Populist Paradox
A Populist Paradox
Populist policies may harm voters but reward leaders
Georgy Egorov
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Georgy Egorov

Content: Georgy Egorov
The three researchers crafted a set of equations and proofs to explain how Latin American politicians’ policies and rhetoric skew to the left— often farther to the left than they are comfortable with—in order to send a message to voters that they do not support policies that benefit the wealthy elite or corporations. The model describes a society that has unequal wealth distribution and is deeply polarized politically, with the bulk of the population favoring policies that benefit the poor and the common working citizen. Furthermore, each citizen dislikes it when policies move too far from their ideal “bliss point,” or political beliefs. Egorov says that to explain leftist populism, the model needs to assume that the bulk of the population prefers left-wing policies such as investing in public goods and redistributive measures. In a society with these characteristics, many voters may fear that a politician has a secret right-wing agenda, especially when it is difficult for them to distinguish between a moderate candidate and a right-wing candidate. In this context, it becomes valuable for a moderate politician to signal to voters that they have no hidden-right wing agenda; they accomplish this by using populist rhetoric and moving even further to the left of where their own bliss point falls naturally. “Embracing these leftist policies, which would be unacceptable to someone on the right and are probably worse than what the politician truly wants, is a way to signal to a voter that you are not in favor of policies that benefit the elite,” Egorov says. This exaggerated move to the left also pulls a politician’s opponent to the left, he says. “ Even people who are connected to the elite, or to businesses or corporations—they also move to the left because they don’t want to lose, so they must appear as populist as they can afford to,” Egorov says.