Anne Applebaum: I’ve resolved to stop using the words ‘far-right’ and ‘populist’

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2016 file photo, Richard Spencer, who leads a movement that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism, speaks at the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. The Montana ski resort town of Whitefish is an unlikely flashpoint between white supremacists and residents trying to preserve the small town's reputation as a welcoming vacation destination. But that's just what happened after the mother of Spencer, a so-called "alt-right" movement leader, said last week she was being pressured to sell her property and denounce her son's views. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) In columns or commentary, one sometimes needs to simplify in order to save space. But here’s my New Year’s resolution: In the coming 12 months, I will try to avoid the expressions “far-right” and “populist” whenever possible. They are catch-all adjectives, useful in describing a general phenomenon. But they are also euphemisms, and they disguise what’s at stake.

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