Demagogue Rules

I offered my hand. He pushed back his chair
"So what happens now?" He gave me a stare
"I already told you, thought it was plain
Playtime is over! I'll say it again
All your advice is so out of touch
Gimme disorder and chaos and such
Folks without leadership, history recalls
Never can hack it; or haven't the balls!"
The next thing he said rang warning alarms
"Dominance somehow obsessively charms!
Pulling in those at the back of the queue
You never need reason when fear will do!"
Now he's out there running – a man on the make
A firebrand without an emergency brake
He'll start out discreetly, then take us for fools
And sooner or later, the demagogue rules

"Way back in the past," the candidate roared
Threatening as always to go overboard
"People like us used to stand in town squares
Majors or miners or millionaires
Everyone listening knew where they stood
Some were supportive, some baying for blood
That was democracy taking its course
Anchored by some gravitational force
That pulled us together into one mass
Regardless of colour or creed or class
But yesterday's gone. I put it to you
We never need reason when fear will do!"
So this is the call of the man on the make
The firebrand without the emergency brake
Amply supplied with rhetorical tools

And sooner or later, the demagogue rules

Antiquity's flaunted what 'populist' means
Winding up millions of clockwork machines
And finding 'em scapegoats they can despise
'Til all they can see is blood in their eyes
No, it's not pretty, but yes, it does work
All that you need's a malevolent jerk
Naturally knowing which buttons to press
Rather impressive, we have to confess!
They'll tell you, those books on the library shelf
You've nothing to fear but fear itself
Of course we all know that's not really true
No one needs reason when fear will do!
And all that it takes is a man on the make
A firebrand without an emergency brake
Who starts out discreetly, then take us for fools
And sooner or later, the demagogue rules