Populism is on the march. The shift away from factual, rational analysis was evident in 2016 in the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. A new study from the Legatum Institute shows it is still running strong. The focus of the work is on the UK but there are obvious signs – from the German elections to the dangerous situation in Poland and Hungary – that the populist tide is flowing in many places across the developed world. For businesses accustomed to a world based on facts and hard evidence combined with the rule of law this is deeply uncomfortable. For the companies in sectors such as energy which can easily be targeted by populists it is particularly worrying.
民粹主义正大行其道。2016年的英国退欧公投和美国总统大选显示出了一种偏离客观、理性分析的趋势。列格坦研究所(Legatum Institute)的一项新研究表明，民粹主义仍势头强劲。这项研究聚焦于英国，但有明显迹象——从德国大选到波兰、匈牙利的危险局势——显示出，民粹主义浪潮正在波及发达世界的许多地区。对于习惯了基于事实、确凿证据加法治的世界的企业而言，这令它们极为不舒服。对于那些很容易成为民粹主义者攻击目标的行业（如能源业）的企业而言，情况尤为令人担忧。