‘Like all great deceptions it is beguilingly simple.’
We’re told that populism is on the rise, but what exactly does that mean? Tony D’Souza looks to history for an explanation
In July 1971, during a secret visit to China, Henry Kissinger asked the then-premier Zhou Enlai what he thought about the influence of the French revolution. Zhou is reputed to have said that it was ‘too early to tell’.
Whether Zhou was misquoted or not (and there is debate about this) there is a lot of truth in his reply. The French revolution of 1789 remains deeply significant because it was the first time in history an entire society attempted to re-engineer itself using a populist agenda. Steered by ideologues such as Maximilien Robespierre, it cost the lives of over 40,000 people and concluded with the installation of a dictator. The significance of this social experiment reverberates throughout history and remains relevant for us today.
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