
Is Populism Good for the Populace?
Setup
All populists are not created equal
Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council, draws a distinction between economic and authoritarian populism and contends that one is far more dangerous than the other:
Sperling sees some merit to economic populism, which is a movement focused on wresting economic control from a select few (think the 99 Percent versus the 1 Percent). Authoritarian populism, which has allowed for the rise of strongmen and the dissolution of civil rights, is to be feared in all forms.
Populism might not deliver on its promises, but does that even matter?
Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency was hailed as a triumph of populism, but Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, says that many of the economic policies Trump has enacted are actually traditionally conservative. And the populist policies that Trump has put in place might be causing lasting harm to the US economy.
Big IdeaI’m not sure the populism which has been so politically successful on the right is delivering for the people that put [the populists] into power.Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Michael Green, CEO of Social Progress Imperative, follows up Holtz-Eakin by suggesting that many populists around the world aren’t actually concerned with how the economy is performing. What they care about, says Green, is feeling in control. He uses Brexit as an example: pro-Brexit supporters initially touted claims of economic growth as a main reason for leaving the European Union. When economic reports began forecasting dire economic circumstances should Brexit occur, many who are pro-Brexit changed the conversation to instead focus on economic sovereignty.
Like them or not, populists are political innovators
Populists movements in Turkey, Brazil, Italy, and the US are mostly products of circumstances within their own borders. But some transnational populist trends are emerging, and Michael Green says that innovation in politics is one of them:
Learn More
Additional Information
Explore More
USA

Katie Keith is director of the Health Policy and the Law Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is adjunct professor of law. Keith’s analysis focuses on way...

The highest court often seems distanced from our day-to-day lives, but the rulings that come out of the Supreme Court are woven into the fabric of the nation. Though it aims t...


From blockchain to back to school and virus-hunting to bridging divides, speakers at the 2021 Aspen Ideas Festival addressed issues in a new kind of world—one touched, and cha...





















Following the terror attacks on 9/11, attorney Kenneth Feinberg battled against cynicism, bureaucracy and politics to deliver monetary relief to victims’ families. He's featur...


