What do you mean by "populism", are you in favour of it, and what country do you live in?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

Several times on DU I've gotten into arguments on DU about whether or not "populism" was a good thing, and after some acrimony its become apparent that the people I was arguing with were using it to mean something slightly different to what I think it means. I'm vaguely wondering if this might be a UK/US thing.

1: What do you mean by "populism"? Examples are helpful.
2: Are you in favour of it?
3: What country do you come from?

I don't wish to bias my results, so I won't post my answers yet.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Not at all.

1) Populism, to me, means following the will of the mob and adhering to what the people want, no matter how ill-conceived it might be.

2) No, I'm not. I'm a much bigger fan of the Senate than I am the House because what's popular may not be what's right. There's a reason we have the bicameral legislature that we have, and it's because our founding fathers knew that mob rule was a poor plan way to run a country. Things need to be slowed down, such that measures are passed not JUST because they're popular right now. Further, the average person doesn't have a clue what's going on, further exacerbating the idea that what's popular might not be right.

3) USA

[RFKJrNews]

2. Great question!

I believe that populism is an intrinsic part of the American experience, and have always supported populist candidates. This is why I so strongly support the people's movement to Draft RFK Jr. in 2008.

Webster's defines a populist as:
1) "A member of a political party claiming to represent the common people."
2) "a believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people."

Interestingly, the US once had a Populist Party, a political party formed in 1891 primarily to represent agrarian interests and to advocate the free coinage of silver and government control of monopolies.

Kinda makes me wish the Populist Party would make a comeback...


Please SIGN THE PETITION to Draft Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for President:
http://RFKin2008.com

[OHdem10]

3. My understanding of Populism in today's politics

in simplified language is the prarie populist Govenor of Montana
puts it--"looking out for the little guy".

The perception has become: Both Parties look out for Corporations
and Businesses to the detriment of the average citizen.

When a bill is up for a vote and the Senator, Cogressmen are in
a cruch--can you depemnd on them to choose in favor of business
or in favcor of the people(populace).

There are times parties must compromise and I believe it is proper
to assist Business and Corporations. However, over the last
ten or so years more and more the American people get the shaft.
When a Senator develops a pattern of always voting with GOP
to support Business rather than occasionally looing out for
the Citizens, this is a problem,IMO

Therefore, you see or hear more about populism.

Since the GOP is the Party of Business, they feel threatened at
the sound of populist, populism. They go into Smear Mode in
order to kill the messenger. They developed this Religious
Populism to hang on to voters. As long as you have their
citizens focused on End Times, Guns, Gays, Abortion and God
they are distracted from their economic problems. I think
this may be wearing thin. Republicans tend to yell Class Warfare
to shut Dems up.

As Nafta and Gatt have taken their toll on the poor and middle
class, more and more new Members of Congress will carry a populist
message or a Social Justice Message.

[madfloridian]

4. Two views.

I am with Jim Webb, a government is responsible for its people who can't help themselves.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1410

And the DLC group which wants to rewrite the "social contract".

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1318

And here's one definition:

"(philosophy) A political doctrine or philosophy that proposes that the rights and powers of ordinary people are exploited by a privileged elite, and supports their struggle to overcome this.

So that definition makes me a populist who believes government has a role to play in the life of its people.

[Zorra]

5. Here's an explanation of populism that I mostly agree with:

''Populism' is a political ideology, the central tenet of which is the conviction that governments ought to concern themselves with providing the conditions for the greatest good for the greatest number. Populists typically are opposed to both oligarchy, or government by the few, and plutocracy, or government by the wealthy.

Organized American populism began with a political party formed in 1891, which was subsequently active in the election of 1892. It arose among farmers exploited by creditors. These agrarian (that is, farm-based) populists opposed deflationary monetary policies that favored creditors, and advocated control of monopolies.

Populists may be found among liberals and conservatives alike. Patrick Buchanan, for example, is a conservative populist, while Jim Hightower is a liberal populist. Generally, conservative populists are more concerned about the size and power of governments, while liberal populists tend to be more concerned about the size and power of big business; but at the base of both perspectives is a strikingly similar concern with large, unresponsive, bureaucratic, and unaccountable institutions. Both would agree with Lord Acton's celebrated observation: "The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to to govern. Every class is unfit to govern . . . Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

In American mass media, populists of every stripe are routinely subjected to subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ridicule. This is hardly surprising, given the ownership of the media by an economic elite, which undoubtedly believes its own narrow interests would be at risk in any populist administration.

http://www.progressiveliving.org/populism_defined.htm

I think liberal populism in a democratic society is a good thing, but that conservative populism generally does not recognize the corruptive, exploitive, and predatory nature of laissez-faire capitalism. The "market" needs to be overseen and regulated or it will inevitably spawn oligarchical oppression and control of large numbers of people.

Born in the USA, don't live there right now.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

6. I think I disagree with that.

"'Populism' is a political ideology, the central tenet of which is the conviction that governments ought to concern themselves with providing the conditions for the greatest good for the greatest number."

I would say that the central tenet of Populism, as I use the word, is not "the greatest good of the greatest number" but "the wishes of the greatest number", on each individual issue. It's a step in the direction of government by referendum; away from representative democracy and towards direct democracy.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

7. My views:

1: Populism means, roughly, adopting the positions that appeal to the most people, on each individual issue, without thought for the rights and wrongs of the issue.

2: I'm against this - it often leads to scapegoating of minorities, and to incoherent policies adopted to please the mob, rather than because they will work.

3: I'm British.

My experience has been that in general British people use the word in the sense I do, and are opposed to it, but that Americans tend to use the word to mean "in the interests of the majority" rather than "pandering to the whims of the majority" and as such are in favour of it.

I'm interested to see, however, that Vash the Stampede, in post #1, has outlined what I thought was a steryotypically British position, despite being American.

[Buck Rabbit]

8. I am from The Peoples Republic of Cascadia.

Western Oregon and Western Washington.

I use "populist" the same as you do but realize that both meanings "will of the majority" versus "for the good of the majority" are currently being used, making the term vague when further clarifiers are not provided. Kind of like "libertarian".

I saw a heated debate here on the board by someone with an extreme dislike for capital "L" libertarians, (free market extremists, the political party) and two posters who are "leftist libertarians" or "social libertarians", as most of us are on the board. Saying "I am a libertarian" can be extremely confusing when you are merely referring to individual social freedoms but oppose unregulated free market and minimalist government.

I am opposed to the "Populist - will of the people" in countries where the media is "owned" and education at the university level is not universally available. The US university system is our biggest institutionalized filter to limit economic opportunities for the poorer classes.