demagogue

is a figure unique to democracies insofar as free speech, free expression, and rhetoric are essential components of demagoguery.

It should be no surprise that demagoguery has been seen, from time to time, in the United States, because democratic government seems to be one of the prerequisities without which demagoguery cannot operate. A demagogue can only succeed in an atmosphere of free speech and free expression, since, as noted earlier, demagoguery is intimately bound up with rhetoric. In the Twentieth Century, especially, the demagogue has only been successful when he had a foundation of democracy upon which to build, and a democratic platform from which to speak (Neumann 236).

is a man who has little to say and says it loud. We have come to the age of the mystagogue or don, the man who has nothing to say, but says it softly and impressively in an indistinct whisper.

We have passed the age of the demagogue, the man who has little to say and says it loud. We have come to the age of the mystagogue or don, the man who has nothing to say, but says it softly and impressively in an indistinct whisper.

is a politician who achieves or holds power 'by stirring up the feelings of his audience and leading them blindly to action.

a politician who achieves or holds power 'by stirring up the feelings of his audience and leading them [sic] to action despite the considerations which weigh against it' (Scruton 115).

is a politician who appeals to an audience's greed, fear, and hatred.

as someone who 'appeals to greed, fear, and hatred' (Safire 163),

Latham's A Dictionary of the English Language, a re-print of Doctor Johnson's sweeping version from 1755, defines 'demagogue' as 'ringleader of the rabble' but also, secondarily, as a 'popular and factious orator.'

is able to cultivate political loyalty not through party identification but through personal identification.

The demagogue puts considerable emphasis on the first of these. As Larson wrote in his study of American Southern demagogues, 'The authority of the men was personal rather than traditional . . . the demagogues were able to cultivate political loyalty through personal identification' (340-341).

is careless with evidence, citing 'proof' which he refers to with innuendo but refuses to reveal publically.

The demagogue is also careless with evidence, citing 'proof' which is in fact proof of nothing at all. The textbook example of this approach is Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was much given to the waving of 'list' which were purported to contain the names of Communist in the State Department, or elsewhere. The list were never produced for inspection... the evidence was never provided. As Lomas points out, 'The citation of 'facts' is no guarantee of either their accuracy or their interpretation' ('The Rhetoric of Demagoguery' 164).

is, despite what we tend to think, often sincere in the sense that he is not conscious of the fact that he is lying.

Although Thompson maintains that 'most demagogues are probably sincere in the sense that they are not consciously lying,' (228-229), his viewpoint is in the minority.

demagogue, n.Definitions

demagogue