Technopopulism’s Trojan Horse: How the Dark Enlightenment Hijacked the Populist Movement

By all appearances, a populist revival is sweeping the globe, from rural heartlands to digital spaces and political rallies. It is a movement claiming to reclaim the nation from the grasp of corrupt elites, transnational bureaucracies, and decaying liberal democracies. But look closer, and the image distorts. What presents itself as grassroots rebellion is often being driven by figures and ideologies that despise the very foundations of populist thought: individual liberty, local self-governance, the rule of law, and constitutional restraint.