Welfare cuts have fuelled rise of far right and populism, top UN expert says
The steady, deliberate erosion of the welfare state by mainstream political parties across Europe and beyond has, according to a stark warning from UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter, cultivated the very soil in which the far-right and right-wing populism now flourish. This isn't a sudden political storm but a slow-burning crisis decades in the making, a direct consequence of policy choices made in capitals from London to Lisbon where both centre-right and centre-left factions have championed a rollback of social programmes.What these actions have fostered is a pervasive and deeply human sense of scarcity—a gnawing anxiety that there isn't enough to go around, that the social contract is fraying beyond repair. It is into this vacuum of security and solidarity that populist leaders have adeptly stepped, weaponising this manufactured precarity by directing public frustration toward a convenient 'other': the migrant, the foreigner, the outsider.This discourse, as De Schutter rightly identifies, is not merely inflammatory rhetoric; it is an extremely dangerous political strategy that severs the essential bonds of community. The welfare state was never intended as a mere safety net; it is the very fabric of a cohesive society, a tangible promise that we bear collective responsibility for one another's dignity and basic well-being.When that promise is broken thread by thread through cuts and austerity, the resulting social fabric becomes brittle, susceptible to the divisive forces that now threaten democratic norms. We have seen this narrative play out before in history, where economic despair is channelled into xenophobia, and the lessons are chillingly clear.Governments must now undertake a profound reckoning, moving beyond short-term political calculus to rebuild and reimagine a robust social welfare system not as a cost, but as the foundational investment in our shared stability and humanity. The alternative is a continued descent into polarization, where the politics of fear triumph over the politics of care, with consequences that will ripple through generations.
JA
JadedObserver11 hours ago
ah yes another 'stark warning' that will definitely be heeded this time smh feels like we're just watching the same play with different actors
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