What Is Populism?

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Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Hugo ChBvez -- populists are on the rise across the globe. But what exactly is populism? Should everyone who criticizes Wall Street or Washington be called a populist? What precisely is the difference between right-wing and left-wing populism? Who are the people anyway and who can speak in their name? These questions have never been more pressing. In this provocative book, Jan-Werner M3ller argues that at populism's core is a rejection of pluralism. Populists will always claim that they and they alone represent the people and their true interests. Proposing a number of concrete strategies for how liberal democrats should best deal with populists, M3ller shows how to counter their claims to speak exclusively for the silent majority.Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Marine Le Pen, Hugo ChBvez -- populists are on the rise across the globe. But what exactly is populism? Should everyone who criticizes Wall Street or Washington be called a populist? What precisely is the difference between right-wing and left-wing populism? Who are the people anyway and who can speak in their name? These questions have never been more pressing. In this provocative book, Jan-Werner M3ller argues that at populism's core is a rejection of pluralism. Populists will always claim that they and they alone represent the people and their true interests. Proposing a number of concrete strategies for how liberal democrats should best deal with populists, M3ller shows how to counter their claims to speak exclusively for the silent majority.
Jan-Werner M3ller is Professor of Politics at Princeton University and the author of several books, most recently Contesting Democracy- Political Ideas in Twentieth Century Europe. He contributes regularly to London Review of Books, the Guardian, and the New York Review of Books.