RON DERBY: Beware of those who pile it high, sell cheap
Perhaps there's a positive aspect to the emergence of a Donald Trump, Boris Johnson or a Julius Malema, writes Ron Derby
It's the age of the populists. Everywhere on the political map - from the US, Britain and mainland Europe to the developing world - slow growth has fuelled the rise of nationalism, protectionism and every other -ism you can imagine. But is there good to this rise, does it bring us closer to a place of renewal? One of democracy's side effects is that it from time to time gives birth to populism - and to demagogues like Donald Trump. But the rise of a Trump can't be any good for anyone on the planet, you might say. Yet perhaps there's a positive aspect to the emergence of a Trump, Boris Johnson or a Julius Malema. The populist backlash "serves a useful purpose because it reminds the elite - who dominate our politics and the economy - that they have screwed up in the last decade in multiple ways. People have a right to be angry," British economic historian Niall Ferguson told Business Times this week. It's to wake the elite from the comfort of their slumber. And if those across the Atl...
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