c15: populism

Populism

Politics framed as "pure people vs corrupt elite"; features: anti-establishment, charismatic leaders

Left-wing populism

Anti-neoliberal, pro-redistribution; example: Hugo Chávez Venezuela

Neoliberal populism

Market friendly but anti-elite; example: sometimes applied to Bolsonaro rhetoric

Radical right populism

Nationalist, anti-immigrant, law-and-order; example: Orbán, Meloni, Farage

Farage stance

Advocates mass deportation, anti-migrant rhetoric

Populism in Europe

National Rally (France), Reform UK (Britain)

Duterte quote

Threatened to "kill drug dealers"; law-and-order populism

• Populism definition (Mudde)

People vs elite moral struggle; anti-establishment

Populism waves North America

Prairie farmers vs banks/railroads → “producerism”

US Populism evolution

1890s agrarian → 1960s segregationist Wallace → 1990s Perot → 2010s Trump/Tea Party

Populism Latin America

Left redistribution waves (Perón, Chávez) + later neoliberal variants

Americas three waves

Early agrarian, anti-imperialist, neoliberal anti-elite

European Populism rise

Radical right anti-immigrant parties + economic globalization resentment

Climate populism argument

Climate policy framed as elite agenda → fuels anti-expert backlash

Why climate

Costly, long-term, technical → easy for populists to attack

Conservative climate populism

Claims “climate dictatorship” & regulation hurting working class

Left-populist climate stance

Pro-climate as anti-corporate fight (Sanders/Mélenchon)

Examples

Farage anti-NetZero, AfD “climate dictatorship,” Vox calls climate “cultural Marxism”

Solution ideas

lower transition cost + narrative + participation, not only science arguments

Main takeaway

Populism adapts but core logic remains anti-elite; climate now a new populist battlefield