Populism, Racism and Scapegoat

The Biblical notion of “scapegoat” has been inflected and interpreted from a theological, philosophical, sociological and a psychoanalytic angle. Based on a reconstruction of these different interpretive lines, and highlighting the frequent conflation of these diverse planes, the usage of this notion in contemporary politics will be examined. The internal dynamics and the ethical and social consequences of the construction of scapegoats during the 20° century and in contemporary society will be analyzed. The violent moment within the creation of a scapegoat, a moment understood as “mimetic desire” by Girard, is strictly linked with the construction of identity. In the so-called “totemic meal” (Freud) the impure elements are devoured. Thus through magical thinking (Jung) a group secures the ostracization of the negative. Furthermore, theories of identity are compared with theories of the scapegoat: the essential points of convergence are found to be the decomplexification of problems (Blumer), the notion of social stigma (Goffman) and finally an outburst of violence. The generalized kind of violence typical of ancient societies becomes more limited and restrained in post-classical societies (Girard): in the latter, however, the conflict between in-group and out-group elements persists, albeit in different forms, and also the mimetic contagion can be found, even though mitigated within a pluralistic society in which untruths about the victims are usually questioned. Finally, the mechanisms are investigated which in contemporary society re-establish the reassuring difference between “us” and “them”, majority and minorities, natives and strangers, and thus revive the idiom of hygiene, war and violence. On the basis of these theoretical assumptions, the paper analyzes these mechanisms within the European context, with particular reference to the countries where populist parties have won important positions. Although they partake of the same ideologies of difference and rely on similar stereotypes, antisemitism and racism lead to absolutely diverse strategic and political outcomes. Racist ideology is an ideology of fear, that originates in the drive for selfpreservation. Antisemitism is instead pervaded by a logic of subversive mobilization, because antisemitism is an ideology of subversion and resentment. We can however state that, as Freud would have said, these mechanisms lurk in society and can always recreate a victimising mechanism.