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.

See also

• Communitarianism A partially related political philosophy
• Black populism
• Charismatic authority
• Cultural production and nationalism
• Demagogy — as an abstract kind of untruthful speech
• Populist Party of America
• Poujadism
• Social Democracy
• Christian Democracy
• Christian Socialism