Blame game
It is a fact that people find it hard to accept responsibility for their own life circumstances and find it easier to point the finger at others. In a similar way a group of people or a nation find it hard to accept the current state of their group or nation is due to their past decisions or actions. Right wing politicians use this fact by exaggerating how bad things are and then go on to say how much better your life could be, or how much better the nation would be if only “they” or “it” could be stopped and of course they are the only ones able to act tough and sort things out, usually with an increase in violence and a reduction of civil liberties. Right wing politicians provide an alternative reality which takes away personal responsibility and places it firmly on, not you or your group, but on “others” who must be removed before things will improve. Many find this attractive because it plays into our learnt tendency for tribalism.
Here in the UK we had Brexit. The right wing promoted this as a “cure all” for the nations problems. If only we left the EU we could take back control, do our own trade deals, pour money into the free healthcare systems and industry would surge ahead. The cause of the nations problems was not poor government policy or a lazy, elderly nation that is unproductive and greedy for ever increasing welfare hand outs, but all those European bureaucrats with their open borders, that ripped us off and passed laws to hold us back. Hence the solution, they told the voters, was to leave Europe and all would be well.
Brexit happened years ago now and the right wing hardly mentions it today. That is because Brexit has failed to deliver any major advantages and has caused many disadvantages. So what has the right wing done - it has moved on to someone else to blame. This time it’s the migrants which are ruining the country. They are the political scape goats that now have to be stopped because they are the cause of the all the nations problems. They ignore the fact that migrants are hard working, do low paid physical jobs us Brits don’t want to do, bring cultural variety and really appreciate living here. Instead the Right wing blame this minority group and insist they are stopped. (Extreme right wingers even promote the false idea that immigrants are mostly male sexual predators raping young white innocent women to stir up hatred against them.)
The fact that our UK economy is flat lining because of lack of investment, poor productivity, high regulation; because our population is mostly over 50, and because 1 in 4 is classed as disabled and hence claiming state benefits, is also conveniently ignored. The nations problems are not due to us the voters or the people we elected, but because of “others” ie migrants.
And what would happen if migration were stopped? Would the country and voters personal circumstances greatly improve? Of course not. It would be just like brexit. They would just stop blaming migrants and move on to another set of “others”. Only this time it would be “others” of their own nation ie their political opponents, the press, or the judges. And after them they would blame someone else, perhaps you.
And this exposes the false assumption behind the Right wing agenda. The reasons for our problems are internal not external. “Others” are not to blame, we and the people we vote for are responsible.
Nationalism / Tribalism
The far right also exploit peoples (especially mens) bias to identify with a group. Humans are social by nature and live and work in groups or tribes for mutual benefit. The problem is that this tribalism, which in the past had strong roots with a particular family, clan or geographic area, no longer fits with globalisation, where a highly interconnected and interdependent world means that we all benefit from cooperation and trust with every other tribe on the planet. Like it or not, we are moving towards being one great big tribe now.
Many people don't like this changing new world and the right wing exploits this by giving voice to those fearful and made insecure by the demise of national power, merging cultures, new ideas and the weakening of tribal identity. So there is lots of flag waving, pretending to be Christian nice people (when they clearly don't love their neighbour) and calls to patriotism to defend their culture which is by default "superior" because they are part of it. This all seems harmless at first but by highlighting their tribe, divisions are accentuated which lead to "them and us" policies and ultimately to hate and violence towards peoples not of the tribe. Thus xenophobic, racist views proliferate.
Does this make the world a better place? It might make the tribe feel stronger for a while, but the world has moved on and no tribe can survive on its own any more. Those with a global outlook are those who are the most successful today. The far right cannot turn back the clock or even slow it. As we are seeing in America, Trumps policies get you nowhere.
The Past was Better
A common theme with the right wing is to play the nostalgia card. This is done by promoting past glories, exaggerating current problems and stating that they will take their country back to a golden era. Make America Great Again is Trump's catch phrase, while Putin wants to recreate the Soviet Union. In the UK Farage wants to save the British pub and bring back British values whilst ignoring the fact that people want to drink healthier and values have changed. They have no vision of a better future only a longing for what has past.
This proves popular as people tend to see the past through rose tinted glasses. We forget about past problems and selectively remember the good times not the bad. Also we all have direct experience of past times so are all touched by relections of memories. However the past has gone and cannot be brought back and to focus on it is a waste of time, as it is no more than an impossible dream.
A policy of national regeneration falsely assumes things are that bad they need regenerating. If fails to acknowledge that the focus should be on improving the future not regenerating the past. The classic example is the right wing tendency to want to maintain an oil based economy rather than switch to non polluting renewable energy.
Populism
The current batch of right wing politicians claim to be for the people, anti the establishment and want to sweep away the failing old order with a reformed new government that will cure all problems. This message is of course popular as the majority of the people are not of establishment and do not have much in common with those in power. The underlying falsehood behind such populism is the question of competence and integrity. Is a man / woman of the people such as a plumber or dress maker able to run a large government department? And as we are seeing with the Trump and Putin administrations when Populism becomes unpopular it is replaced with bullying, authoritarian laws, and corruption, using the excuse that opponents are trouble makers and criminals.
Violent Masculinity
The right wing image is based on the strong man, who knows whats right, dominates others and holds traditional values. So feminism is out. This old fashioned, out dated view is at odds with women who are now educated, are financially independent and demand equal rights at home and in the work place. An strong men usually show their strength with out bursts of violence, which is no good for any one.
So why do women vote for right wing men? Well the men use a small female elite to promote the traditional values, even though those women do not uphold those values in their daily lives.
