TOUR OF THE BOOK
This book contains a number of pedagogical features to help you understand each ideology discussed, the key thinkers and concepts associated with them, the differences between them and the tensions within them.
At the start of each chapter...
CHAPTER 8 POPULISM
Chapter previews highlight the broad nature of the ideology and give a taste of the discussion to follow in the chapter.
PREVIEW Derived from the Latin populus, meaning people, the term ‘populism’ was originally used to refer to the ideas and beliefs of the US People’s Party (also known as the Populist Party), which was founded in 1892. The term later acquired a range of pejorative associations, being used to imply, for example, mass manipulation or political irresponsibility. Few politicians therefore identify themselves as
Preview
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Historical overview
Core themes
Types of populism 00 The future of populism 00 Questions for discussion 00 Further reading 00
lack of scholarly agreement about both the nature of populism as a political phenomenon – is it an ideology, a movement, a political style or whatever? – and its defining features. It is nevertheless widely accepted that, as an ideology, populism is shaped by two key stances: adulation of ‘the people’ and outright condemnation of the elite or establishment. The central image of populism is therefore of a society divided into two homogeneous and antagonistic groups: the ‘pure’ people and the ‘corrupt’ elite. From the populist perspective, the people – typically conceived selectively as the ‘real people’ or the ‘true people’ – constitute the only source of moral worth in politics, their wishes and instincts providing the sole legitimate guide to political action. Populists thus embrace a monist stance that is firmly opposed to pluralism, and puts it at odds with liberalism in general and liberal democracy in particular. However, in contrast to other forms of pro-people illiberalism (notably fascism and communism), populism is essentially reformist rather than revolutionary. It is nevertheless important to note that there are ideological tensions within populism, in particular between left-wing and right-wing populism. Left-wing populists typically define
Within each chapter…
Definitions of key terms, highlighted in the text, appear on the page where they are used, instead of in a separate glossary.
Environmentalism: A concern about the natural environment and particularly about reducing environmental degradation: a policy orientation rather than an ideological stance. Humanism: A philosophy that gives moral priority to the achievement of human needs and ends.
Key figure boxes offer biographical details about the major thinkers and their influence on each ideological tradition, as well as highlighting their key writings.
KEY FIGURE
A UK atmospheric chemist, inventor and environmental thinker, Lovelock is best known as the inventor of the ‘Gaia hypothesis’. This proposes that the Earth is best understood as a complex, self-regulating, living ‘being’, implying that the prospects for humankind are closely linked to whether the species helps to sustain, or threaten, the planetary ecosystem. Lovelock was also the first person to alert the world to the global presence of CFCs in the atmosphere, and he is, controversially, a supporter of nuclear power.
Colin McPherson/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images
KEY CONCEPT PRAGMATISM
disputes that seeks to clarify themean and hypotheses by identifying consequences. The benefits of pragm are that it allows policies and politic be judged ‘on their merits’ (on the works’), and that it prevents ideology divorced from reality and turning in thinking. Critics, however, equate p
Key concept boxes provide extended explanations of important ideas that underpin the ideologies under discussion.
Pragmatism, broadly defined, refers to behaviour that is shaped in accordance with practical circumstances and goals, rather than principles or ideological objectives. As a philosophical tradition, associated with ‘classical pragmatists’ such as William
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