Populism and anti-populism in the United States

Charles Postel

Chapter 6 in Research Handbook on Populism, 2024, pp 72-83 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the 1890s, the United States Populist Party (or People’s Party) represented a powerful social movement that challenged corporate power. Rooted in the interest-based and class politics of farm and labour organizations, in style and substance it resembled the evolutionary social democracy elsewhere in the capitalist world. Populism frightened the wealthy elite, which employed a militant conservatism or anti-populism to successfully defeat the Populist Party. However, populism remained a broad current in United States politics, as did conservative anti-populism. This chapter argues that distinguishing United States populism from its antagonists is essential for making sense of American politics over the last 130 years.

Keywords: Politics and Public Policy Research Methods; Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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