Populism

Populism is a political philosophy or rhetorical style that holds that the common person is oppressed by the elite in society, and that the instruments of the State need to be grasped from this self-serving elite and used for the benefit and advancement of the people as a whole. A populist reaches out to ordinary people, talking about their economic and social concerns, and appealing to their common sense. Most scholarship on populism since 1980 has discussed it as a rhetorical style that can be used to promote a variety of ideologies.

Populist methods

Populism is characterized by a sometimes radical critique of the status quo, but on the whole does not have a strong political identity as either a left-wing or right-wing movement. Populism has taken left-wing, right-wing, and even centrist forms. In recent years, conservative politicians have increasingly begun adopting populist rhetoric; for example, promising to "get big government off your backs", or to stand up to "the powerful trial lawyer lobby", "the liberal elite", or "the Hollywood elite". Also in recent years, left-wing politicians have increasingly begun adopting populist rhetoric; for example, by contrast, tend to rail against large corporations, claiming that they put profits ahead of ordinary people. Populism has also, at times, been adopted as a vehicle for right-wing activists.

Related Topics:
Radical - Liberal - Hollywood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Populists are seen by some scholars as a largely democratic and positive force in society, while other scholars argue populist mass movements are irrational and introduce instability into the political process. Margaret Canovan argues that both these polar views are faulty. Canovan defined two main branches of populism worldwide -- agrarian and political -- and mapped out seven disparate sub-categories. http://www.publiceye.org/tooclose/populism.html

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Agrarian populism:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Commodity farmer movements with radical economic agendas such as the US People's Party of the late 1800's.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Subsistence peasant movements such as the East European Green Rising,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Intellectuals who wistfully romanticize hard-working farmers and peasants and build radical agrarian movements like the Russian narodniki.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Political populism:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Populist democracy, including calls for more political participation, including the use of the popular referendum.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Politicians' populism marked by non-ideological appeals for "the people" to build a unified coalition.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Reactionary populism such as the White backlash harvested by George Wallace.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Populist dictatorship such as that established by Peron in Argentina.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~