Demagogue: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

{{Pull quote|text=A demagogue, in the strict signification of the word, is a 'leader of the rabble'.|author=[[James Fenimore Cooper]]|source="On Demagogues" (1838)<ref name=Cooper />}}The word ''demagogue'', originally meaning a leader of the common people, was first coined in [[ancient Greece]] with no negative connotation, but eventually came to mean a troublesome kind of leader who occasionally arose in [[Athenian democracy]].<ref name="Samons-etym" /><ref name="Ostwald" /> Even though democracy gave power to the common people, elections still tended to favor the aristocratic class, which favored deliberation and decorum. Demagogues were a new kind of leader who emerged from the lower classes. Demagogues relentlessly advocated action, usually violent—immediately and without deliberation.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}The word ''demagogue'', originally meaning a leader of the common people, was first coined in [[ancient Greece]] with no negative connotation, but eventually came to mean a troublesome kind of leader who occasionally arose in [[Athenian democracy]].<ref name="Samons-etym" /><ref name=Ostwald /> Even though democracy gave power to the common people, elections still tended to favor the aristocratic class, which favored deliberation and decorum. Demagogues were a new kind of leader who emerged from the lower classes. Demagogues relentlessly advocated action, usually violent—immediately and without deliberation.{{r|Signer|page=32–38}} Demagogues [[appeal to emotion|appealed directly to the emotions]] of the poor and uninformed, pursuing power, telling lies to stir up hysteria, exploiting crises to intensify popular support for their calls to immediate action and increased authority, and accusing moderate opponents of weakness or disloyalty to the nation.

The term "demagogue" has been used to disparage leaders perceived as manipulative, pernicious, or bigoted.{{r|Signer|page=32–38}}However, what distinguishes a demagogue can be defined independently of whether the speaker favors or opposes a certain political leader.{{r|Signer|page=32–38}} What distinguishes a demagogue is how a person gains or holds democratic power: by exciting the passions of the lower classes and less-educated people in a democracy toward rash or violent action, breaking established democratic institutions such as the rule of law.{{r|Signer|page=32–38}} [[James Fenimore Cooper]] in 1838 identified four fundamental characteristics of demagogues:{{r|Signer|page=32–38}}<ref name=Cooper />