34 | JUNE 22 • 2023
T
he story of Korach
has much to teach us
about one of the most
disturbing phenomena of our
time: the rise of populism in
contemporary
politics. Korach
was a populist,
one of the first
in recorded
history — and
populism has
re-emerged in
the West, as it
did in the 1930s,
posing great danger to the
future of freedom.
Populism is the politics
of anger. It makes its
appearance when there is
widespread discontent with
political leaders, when people
feel that heads of institutions
are working in their own
interest rather than that of
the general public, when
there is a widespread loss of
trust and a breakdown of the
sense of the common good.
People come to feel
that the distribution of
rewards is unfair: a few gain
disproportionately and the
many stay static or lose.
There is also a feeling that
the country they once knew
has been taken away from
them, whether because of the
undermining of traditional
values or because of large
scale immigration.
Discontent takes the form
of the rejection of current
political and cultural elites.
Populist politicians claim that
they, and they alone, are the
true voice of the people. The
others, the existing leaders,
are sharing out the rewards
among themselves, indifferent
to the suffering of the masses.
Populists stir up resentment
against the establishment.
They are deliberately divisive
and confrontational. They
promise strong leadership
that will give the people back
what has been taken from
them.
In 2017, support for
populist parties throughout
Europe was running at
around 35, the highest level
since the late 1930s. Parties
of the far right gained power
in Poland and Hungary, and
made a strong showing in
Austria, France and Holland.
In Southern Europe, in
countries like Spain and
Greece, populism tends to be
of the left.
Regardless of what form it
takes, when populism is on
the rise, tyranny is around
the corner. Human rights are
dispensed with. The public
grants the strong leader
exceptional powers: so it was
in the 1930s with Franco,
Hitler and Mussolini. People
are willing to sacrifice their
freedom for the promised
utopia, and to tolerate great
evils against whichever
scapegoat the leader chooses
to blame for the nation’s
problems.
THE KORACH REBELLION
The Korach rebellion was
a populist movement, and
Korach himself an archetypal
populist leader. Listen
carefully to what he said
about Moses and Aaron: “You
have gone too far! The whole
community is holy, every
one of them, and the Lord is
among them. Why then
do you exalt yourselves
above the assembly of
the Lord?” (Num. 16:3).
These are classic populist
claims. First, implies Korach,
the establishment (Moses
and Aaron) is corrupt. Moses
has been guilty of nepotism
in appointing his own
brother as High Priest. He
has kept the leadership roles
within his immediate family
Rabbi Lord
Jonathan
Sacks
SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
The First Populist