As defined by the Guardian, populism is:
The framing of "politics as a battle between the virtuous 'ordinary' masses and a nefarious or corrupt elite – and insist that the general will of the people must always triumph. The Guardian is adopting the classic definition of populism proposed by political scientist Cas Mudde. Populism, he says, is often combined with a 'host' ideology, which can either be on the left or right.The Guardian has published a quiz (here, Silva, Hawkins, Littvay, & Wiesehomeier, 22 November 2018) which we can use to find out how populist we are. As you can see from the above diagram, I am slightly left-wing populist. What is fascinating is to see how many other quiz-takers from all over the world feel the same way.
"Populism is as old as democracy itself, but the last 10 years have proven particularly fertile: populist leaders now govern countries with a combined population of almost two billion people, while populist parties are gaining ground in more than a dozen other democracies, many of them in Europe" (Wintour, 22 November 2018).
I am not sure that it is a good thing to be a populist of any stripe. It worries me that I am thinking that there are those with a great deal of power versus those who have little. This worries me because those views can lead to paralysis: through a fixed mindset (Dweck, 2006) and an external locus of control (Lefcourt, 1966). In being a slightly left-wing populist, I am demonstrating a belief in a divided society of 'us' and 'them' (Tajfel, 1982). Ouch.
However, knowing is the first step towards change. Now it is what I do with it that counts :-)
Sam
References:
- Dweck, Carol S (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. USA: Random House
- Lefcourt, H. M. (1966). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 65(4), 206-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0023116
- Mudde, C. (22 November 2018). How populism became the concept that defines our age. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/22/populism-concept-defines-our-age
- Silva, B. C., Hawkins, K., Littvay, L., & Wiesehomeier, N. (22 November 2018). How populist are you? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/nov/21/how-populist-are-you-quiz
- Tajfel, H. (1982). Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33(1), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.33.020182.000245
- Wintour, P. (22 November 2018). Hillary Clinton: Europe must curb immigration to stop rightwing populists. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/22/hillary-clinton-europe-must-curb-immigration-stop-populists-trump-brexit
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