Populist Emergence in Europe (and America) Creates Serious Political Problems and Endangers Stability

Populism is a term that loosely defines any anti-establishment political movement by more or less naive but well-meaning common elements in society who oppose the traditional political parties and their traditional programs.

The Republican "Tea Party" emergence in America is a type of populist movement. Also Europe currently has similar populist political movements that have emerged in numerous countries, mostly due to economic problems.

See Europe’s Populist Backlash.

Populism may sound fine at first glance, but the experience of history shows that rising populism can destabilize traditional governments and established nations, leading to terrible upheavals and wars -- often based on good intentions -- which result from what are essentially "amateurs" thinking they can do better what the professionals have been doing. Usually, that is not anywhere near the case.

We see in America what chaos such misguided "greenhorn" populist politicans can cause, not realizing that good intentions alone are never a qualification for good government.