Populism
Populism: The Core Idea
 The people (the populus) can and ought to act together
politically.
“Regnat populus” – the state motto of Arkansas
 Justification: The common people as a whole
supposedly have some sort of wisdom or virtue that is
not possessed by either individuals acting as individuals
or by factions, elites, or “special interests.”
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Populism: An Ideology?
 BDCC: “the populist view of society is essentially liberal”
(207) in that it acknowledges that society is composed
fundamentally of individuals.
 Perhaps. But this (I’d say) is potentially misleading: The
populist is not especially focused on individuals as
different individuals, but on the “common man”—the
average citizen.
(Compare, e.g., J.S. Mill’s ‘experimental’ liberal
individualism)
 Relatedly, populism may involve a principled appeal to
the “the common man” – e.g., because the populist
thinks that ordinary people have knowledge or virtues
that other people lack. In which case, “populism” is
arguably an ideology (even if it leaves a lot unspecified)
 On the other hand, an appeal to “ordinary folks” /
condemnation of ‘elites’ could simply be a (more or less
unprincipled) tactic – e.g., a means to getting elected in
a democratic election.
See, e.g., Sarah Palin, Donald Trump
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Elites…
 According to many populists, the enemies of the
‘common man’ have often been financial and economic
elites—banks, industrial cartels, railways, capitalists.
Think: AIG, Goldman Sachs, “Wall Street/Bay Street
speculators”
 In that respect, populism can be seen as a ‘left-leaning’
view, favouring protective state intervention similar to
that proposed by welfare liberals, Tory conservatives,
and democratic socialists…
…Out-Groups
 But, at other times, populism has identified the enemies
of the common man among ‘others’: e.g., labour unions,
bureaucrats, ‘welfare dependants’, minority groups
advancing claims to group rights (e.g., Aboriginal
peoples, LGBTQ people, linguistic minorities, etc.), “the
lamestream media”…
 In those respects, populism is a ‘right-leaning’ view,
shading into classical liberalism and/or classical
conservatism and/or contemporary conservativism (or, in
extreme forms, outright fascism)
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Populism: Ideology or Style?
 So is populism a proper ideology? Like nationalism, it
seems to be compatible with several different ideological
perspectives.
 While populism is clearly an important idea in the study
of politics (especially in the Canadian and U.S. context),
at least in the present it is perhaps best to think of it not
as a full-strength ideology, but rather as a political style
(or movement or tactic).
The General Will
 An idea due to Jean-Jacques
Rousseau (1712-78)
 General Will: The interests or desires
of the political community as a whole—the unanimous
choice of the body politic under conditions of full
information, public spirit, and concern for the common
good.
 According to Rousseau, each should submit his
individual will to the general will, which cannot be
wrong…
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Rousseau in a Nutshell
 Similar to Locke, Rousseau maintains that human
beings, by nature, are fundamentally good. (Cf. the idea
of “the noble savage” )
 Society has made us wicked by transforming our
(natural, good, beneficial) amour de soi into (artificial,
status-seeking) amour-propre.
In society we acquire the habit of comparing ourselves to
others and, ipso facto, of taking pleasure in others’ pain,
misfortune or weakness.
 So, according to Rousseau, submission to the general
will guarantees our freedom, by protecting us from the
domination of others.
 The general will, Rousseau thinks, is best articulated
through direct democracy.
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Leftist Populism in the U.S.
 1890s: Originates among Western farmers, later united
with the Knights of Labor based in the industrial East.
 1892: The People’s Party (‘The Omaha platform’)
• End the gold standard; silver-backed currency for the sake
of expanding the money supply
• Reduction of tariffs
• Public ownership of railways, telegraph, telephone
systems
• Secret ballot
• Direct election of senators
20th Century U.S. Populism
 The original Peoples’ (Populist) Party
existed only until 1908
 Much of its platform, however, was taken up by the
Democratic Party, especially under William Jennings
Bryan in the presidential election of 1896.
E.g.: Direct election of Senate, 17th Amendment (1913)
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 Later, the evangelical Protestant element in populism
plays a role in, e.g., prohibition (1920-1933); the fight
against Darwinism in schools
(E.g., Bryan and the Scopes trial, 1925)
 In the 1980s, U.S. populism again turns to the right: The
enemies of the common people are ‘amoral’ media
elites, government bureaucrats (Republican Party, Tea
Party movement); the globalized economy (Pat
Buchanan, Lou Dobbs)
Populist Democratic Means
Ballot Initiative: Proposal put to democratic vote which,
if successful, must be considered by the legislature. (In
some U.S. states, initiatives can be proposed directly by
citizens.)
Referendum: Popular vote to decide some matter of
public policy. (A Canadian misnomer: Most Canadian
referenda are technically plebiscites)
Recall: Democratic mechanism whereby a legislator can
be forced to call a new election for his or her position.
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Populism in Canada
 As in the U.S., initially a cause of farmers disaffected
with the Liberal Party, especially in Western Canada.
 United Farmers (1919): Forms government in Ontario
(1919); Alberta (1921); Manitoba (1922)
Sought end to protective tariffs; government control of
‘combines’; regulation or public ownership of railways.
 The Progressive Party (1921-1935): A development of
the United Farmers at the federal level and in Manitoba
and Ontario.
 Radically decentralized party structure: No national
leader; no fixed platform, each member free to propose
whatever policies he wished.
 Group government: Farmers (being both capitalists and
workers) naturally seek the common good, in ways that
divisive political parties and classes cannot.
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 Social Credit Party: Founded in
Alberta by William “Bible Bill”
Aberhart
 Major C. H. Douglas: Capitalist societies
promote periodic deficiencies of purchasing power.
A+B=C
The price of all goods produced (C) equals the sum of
wages and dividends (A) plus depreciation and interest
(B). The value of (B) should be returned to the economy
by creating “social credit” (i.e., printing money).
The Reform Party (1987-2000)
 Enemies of the common good:
Minority groups rights demanding
special recognition and entitlements (Quebec,
Aboriginal peoples); Central Canada bureaucrats; the
welfare state, as it sponges off of hard-working ordinary
Canadians.
 The Triple-E Senate: Equal, elected, effective.
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