--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The populists themselves are dangerous…" description: "\"The populists themselves are dangerous, but they are far more dangerous when the traditional, classic parties adopt their harmful proposals.\" — Jean-Cl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/jean-claude-juncker-3277_adopt_the-populists-themselves-are-dangerous-b_1011302.png" --- # The populists themselves are dangerous, but they are far… ![“The populists themselves are dangerous, but they are far more dangerous when the traditional, classic parties adopt their harmful proposals.” quote by Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/jean-claude-juncker-3277_adopt_the-populists-themselves-are-dangerous-b_1011302.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/jean-claude-juncker-3277_adopt_the-populists-themselves-are-dangerous-b_1011302.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34f/jean-claude-juncker-3277_adopt_the-populists-themselves-are-dangerous-b_1011302.png) > “The populists themselves are dangerous, but they are far more dangerous when the traditional, classic parties adopt their harmful proposals.” [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Populist ideas become especially harmful when mainstream parties incorporate them, legitimizing extreme policies. **In simple terms:** Mainstream parties adopting populist ideas is dangerous. Key Takeaway Beware of mainstream parties embracing extremist proposals. Themes politics populism democracy Mood cautious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - election campaigns - legislative debates - party platform revisions - public opinion shaping Key Concepts radicalization policy co-optation Questions to Reflect On - How can established parties resist populist pressure? - What safeguards protect democratic standards? A Different Perspective Mainstream parties may adopt populist ideas to win votes, risking democratic norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adopt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adopt/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-traditional-2198271/) [Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far/) [Harmful Proposals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmful-proposals-2198272/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Populists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/populists-609982/) [Populists Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/populists-dangerous-2198270/) [Themselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/themselves/) ## Related quotes > [Late 19th-century populists saw bankers and industrialists manipulating markets to enrich themselves at the expense of small farmers and labourers and favoured political candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/late-19th-century-populists-saw-bankers-and-industrialists/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [No, we should not be afraid of the populists; we should embrace those they are fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/no-we-should-not-be-afraid-of-the-populists-we-should-embrace-those/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [The populists are spreading slogans. We have to offer solutions and answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/the-populists-are-spreading-slogans-we-have-to-offer-solutions-and/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [I've always been very curious about fringe cultures where people temporarily adopt a different social model or way of presenting themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-ve-always-been-very-curious-about-fringe-cultures-where-people/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The U.S. and, to a certain extent, countries in Europe as well, have experienced growing inequality within their population for decades - a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-bloom/the-u-s-and-to-a-certain-extent-countries-in-europe-as-well-have/) [Nicholas Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-bloom/) > [Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Marine Le Pen seem to have no respect for the institutions that were created after World War II, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-and-marine-le-pen-seem-to-have-no-respect/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“What it mainly revealed was that one of the most insidious of the “hidden injuries of class” in North American society was the denial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/what-it-mainly-revealed-was-that-one-of-the-most-insidious-of-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [Trump is a populist in the same mold as the nineteenth-century Populists who gave their name to American grassroots political movements. Historians and pundits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/trump-is-a-populist-in-the-same-mold-as-the-nineteenth-century/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Populists have always been out to challenge the orthodoxy of the corporate order and to empower workaday Americans so they can control their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/populists-have-always-been-out-to-challenge-the-orthodoxy-of-the/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [Liberals want to manage the damage with government programs to take care of those who have fallen between the cracks. 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At the beginning of the 20th century, socialism looked like it was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-lot-of-populists-after-populism-died-just-became-socialists-at-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [As long as inequality and other social problems plague us, populists will try to exploit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/as-long-as-inequality-and-other-social-problems-plague-us-populists/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Donald Trump did not cause America's democratic crisis of faith, he rode to power on it. Once in control, he and other populists discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-olusoga/donald-trump-did-not-cause-america-s-democratic-crisis-of-faith-he/) [David Olusoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-olusoga/) ## More by Jean-Claude Juncker > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Germany will continue to play a central - perhaps even a more important - role in the European Union. 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