Those who want to stop populists need to learn how to plan strategically, set aside fantasies, and see the cold reality. They need to be proactive rather than reactive, preventively tackling the propaganda of the populists. Only when the strategic goals are achieved, should they feel good about themselves.
With the election of Donald Trump for president of the United States, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for a moment thought he found a kindred spirit. What went wrong and what needs to be done to improve the U.S.-Hungarian relations?
One of the perks of attending an elite school, be it Eton, Oxford, Cambridge or the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is not only the high quality education, but the network of friends one can build. Indeed, in Hogwarts, Harry Potter found friends, which was much more important than the spells he learned.
In 2017, the looming threat of communism has not vanished completely. According to a poll conducted by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, 44% of American youth would prefer living under socialism, 7% under communism, and only 42% chose capitalism.
The magic of the Harry Potter franchise lies not in all the wand waving, but rather in the strong willingness of the protagonists to fight for liberty. Be it as small as opposing nonsensical school rules, or as grandiose as combatting the authoritarian Ministry of Magic, the main characters are there to step up for their freedoms.
Atlas Network’s Europe Liberty Forum, co-hosted by Free Market Foundation, held on September 21-22, 2017 in Hungary, was one of the largest gatherings of classical liberals and libertarians from Europe and the word. Around 140 people from more than 30 countries attended the two-day event.
I know it is much more comfortable to stay in our own bubbles, but in order to be better, we must push ourselves and step out of our comfort zones. Beside cultivating a relationship with our audiences (and educating them better on communicating liberty), we have to build the roads to others.
We don’t have a lot of time. If we don’t act now, we will entrench the semi-feudal, crypto-communist government. Our current situation is like extinguishing a fire: We shouldn’t care who hands us a bucket of water, the most important things is to put out the fire.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would make an excellent magician. While he diverts people’s attention with one hand, he steals with the other. Often literally.
We may recently often hear that something is a “Putinesque measure”. However, in Hungary, the governing party Fidesz, lead by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is really using Putin’s solutions as its point of reference. Let’s see how similar Orbán’s and Putin’s methods are.
