geeky
What is populism and who is a populist? Populism is a political ideology which seeks to champion the cause of the common man and woman against a privileged elite. Throughout history populists have come in all shapes and sizes, from the left, right, and center. Populism has as its goal advancing and protecting the interests of the uncorruptable, unsophisticated and politically and economically powerless "little guy" against the corrupt dominant elites (often established politicians) and their backers (usually the wealthy or the intellectual elites). It is based on the theory that political and social goals are best accomplished by the direct actions of the people themselves, mobilizing as a political force. It comes into being where mainstream political parties and institutions fail to make things better for the common man or woman, often during periods of economic hardship.
Political parties and politicians sometimes will use the terms populist and populism as pejoratives against their opponents, equating populists as demagogues, those who pretend to empathize with the public through rhetoric or unrealistic proposals in order to increase their electability.
There have been several populist movements in the United States. The first group to use this label was the Populist Party of the 1890s, made up of a group of Midwestern and Southern farmers and some labor unions who fought against a system which they say saw "the fruits of the toil of millions boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for a few." But many would argue that there were populists well before this movement, and some would classify Presidents such as Thomas Jefferson or Andrew Jackson as populists.
The term "populist" was used during the depression when Louisiana's Governor Huey Long appealed to populist sentiments, and later in the 1950s when some applied the term to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who blamed elites for the problems facing the country. But even before that, other early populist political parties in the United States included the Greenback Party, the Progressive Party of 1912 led by Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Party of 1924 led by Robert M. La Follette, Sr., and Long's Share Our Wealth movement.
Another lesser known populist was Lynn Frazier, a three-term Governor of North Dakota. He led the Nonpartisan League, a right-wing populist movement that gained control of North Dakota's lower house and won 79% of the popular vote in North Dakota's gubernatorial election of 1916. Campaigning as Republicans against Democrats who were supported by intellectuals and liberal reformers espousing collectivist and corporate farming, the Nonpartisan League gained a large share of the rural and agrarian vote.
There have also been left-wing populist movements such as the Free Silver movement, led by three-time Democratic Party Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. Another example can be found in the candidacy of consumer protection advocate Ralph Nader. Both of these men campaigned against the power of large corporations such as national banks and automobile companies.
In more recent times, the third-party presidential campaigns of billionaire Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996, the Reform Party candidacy of Pat Buchanan and a number of other candidates have attempted to base their candidacy on populist appeals. From its beginnings in early 2009, the Tea Party movement has used populist rhetoric. On the left, the Occupy movement chose the slogan "We are the 99%", and used the phrase "the 1%" to refer to the 1% of Americans who are most wealthy. The Occupy movement believed that the 1% was creating economic instability and undermining the social safety nets implemented during the New Deal.
Most recently, the 2016 presidential election saw a wave of populist sentiment in the campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, with both candidates running on anti-establishment platforms in the Democratic and Republican parties. Both candidates ran on anti-establishment platforms in their respective nomination battles and both campaigns appealed to economic protectionism, and both were critical of free trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. These movements coincided with a similar trend of populism in Europe. Trump's populist appeal led to his election as President of the United States.
The current rise of populism both nationally and globally invites a closer look at the history of populism and populists is the race for the presidency and that's what we'll try to do this month.