Populism is on the march. The shift away from factual, rational analysis was evident in 2016 in the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. A new study from the Legatum Institute shows it is still running strong. The focus of the work is on the UK but there are obvious signs – from the German elections to the dangerous situation in Poland and Hungary – that the populist tide is flowing in many places across the developed world. For businesses accustomed to a world based on facts and hard evidence combined with the rule of law this is deeply uncomfortable. For the companies in sectors such as energy which can easily be targeted by populists it is particularly worrying.
The Legatum study identifies a shift in opinion against the open market economy which we have not seen for several decades. The study demonstrates that the private sector is regarded with contempt and seen as exploitative of both employees and consumers. The three words most associated with the private sector are selfish, corrupt and greedy. Profit is a dirty word, almost as dirty as the word global. People want controls on top pay and higher corporate taxes. The desire for nationalisation of water supplies, the railways and energy companies is strong and not limited to those on the left. Of those surveyed 76 per cent want the railways renationalised; 77 per cent want the state to take over the electricity business. These views come from the political right as well as the traditional left.
Of course the behaviour of some parts of the private sector has created and reinforced these attitudes. Ridiculous pay awards for top management – embarrassing even to the recipients; the systematic minimisation of tax payments by highly successful companies; the abuse of corporate power in negotiations with government over issues such as the contracts for new nuclear are just some of the most obvious recent examples of what has gone wrong. These examples may be exceptions but they are very easily seen as the norm. The public reaction may be ill informed and misdirected but it cannot be ignored. If companies fail to understand the problem they risk being overtaken by a wave which populist politicians will happily ride.