Abstract
The rise of populist parties and movements in general and right-wing populist parties in particular has been noted also in the public health literature. While economic and other factors behind the populist surge have been systematically analyzed in the political and social science literature, the understanding of this political phenomenon seems weak in important parts of the public health literature. The lack of analysis of economic effects on health inequity of immigration of people with low levels of work skills to many high-income countries is given with the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health report as an example. Public health scholars should be able to fully analyze all effects on health inequity within countries. Public health scholars and professionals may lose credibility if they do not fully assess all relevant determinants, and the investigation of health inequity within countries should consider all systemic roots. Health inequity between countries is a crucial issue and should be addressed through international cooperation between countries, regions and international organizations. The approach from political science and social science should be adopted.
Highlights
Recent decades have witnessed the rise of political populist move ments
Populism is a highly contested and vague concept, but it entails a strong personal leader who exercises power with direct, unmediated, non-institutional support from a broad base of supporters who remain predominantly unorganized (Laclau, 1977, 2005bib_Laclau_1977bi b_Laclau_2005; Weyland, 2001). Another characteristic is that populism sets the will of a presumably virtuous and homogeneous people against a set of elites and “dangerous others” who threaten the rights, values, prosperity and voice of the people (Alber tazzi & McDonnell, 2008), and confronts the “pure” people against a corrupt elite with the claim that the populists represent the people and its interest (Mudde, 2010)
In a recent Swedish study, the group of Conservative (Moderate) voters who continued to vote for the traditional Conservative (Moderate) Party had comparatively higher level of education than the group of former Conservative (Moderate) Party voters who voted for the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats in the new election (Jylha€ et al, 2019), a finding which may support the notion that higher education is negatively associated with authoritarian and political anti-immigration political orientation (Kitschelt & Rehm, 2014)
Summary
Recent decades have witnessed the rise of political populist move ments. The populist challenge seems to have emerged in many highincome countries (and some medium-income countries), irrespective of welfare and healthcare systems of particular countries. Future studies may still reveal whether relative deprivation of social groups (Urbanska & Guimond, 2019) can explain mobility from traditional Conservative or non-socialist parties to right-wing populist parties. While economic factors such as income are less plausible for the electoral movement of Conservative or other center-right voters to right-wing populist parties, education seems to be of some importance. In a recent Swedish study, the group of Conservative (Moderate) voters who continued to vote for the traditional Conservative (Moderate) Party had comparatively higher level of education than the group of former Conservative (Moderate) Party voters who voted for the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats in the new election (Jylha€ et al, 2019), a finding which may support the notion that higher education is negatively associated with authoritarian and political anti-immigration political orientation (Kitschelt & Rehm, 2014)
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