Devorah Baum - Politics and the power of joking

Even though joking is often wielded by the powerful against the weak, it’s just as often the recourse of the weak against the strong.

About Devorah Baum

"I'm an Associate Professor in English Literature and Critical Theory at the University of Southampton.

I research literature, philosophy, psychoanalysis and religion, and I've laid a particular emphasis in recent years on feelings and their role in our lives, and on jokes. And I'm currently writing a book on marriage."

When entertainers become politicians

It was Karl Marx who claimed history repeats first as tragedy and then as farce. He was thinking about political actors who profess one thing but then act in the opposite way. When they or their words appear so debased as to be pretty much meaningless, then history tilts towards the farcical. And that sense is only heightened during those periods when authoritarian leaders assume power by appearing in the guise of light entertainers.

Light entertainers have had astonishing success converting into politicians. We’ve seen this happen not only with the former reality star Donald Trump in the US, but in Italy, where a comedian started the Five Star Movement, and in Ukraine, where a former stand-up became president. The same thing happened in Slovenia, too. And in the UK, Boris Johnson’s compulsive clowning likely not only made him prime minister but gave him extraordinary licence to be buffoonish about it.

Key Points

• From the US to Italy and Ukraine, light entertainers have had astonishing success converting into politicians. Trump succeeded by connecting his own resentment of being laughed at with crowds who’ve spent a lifetime smarting from similar wounds.
• Even though joking is often wielded by the powerful against the weak, it’s just as often the recourse of the weak against the strong.
• Today, there is often confusion around whether people are joking or not. Some have taken advantage of this to advance political agendas.