re: The Anti Populist Crowd

quote:

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I guess what subtly getting at with that particular response from me (not directed at you, mind you) is that much like numerous other concepts and labels and such is that very seldom if ever is every person involved in those discussions and skirmishes on the same page as far as what the concept or label means, i.e. a “universally” accepted definition of the term even if only for that specific conversation. The term is often used as an insult in some peoples’ minds without knowing any substantive context of the matter. So it’s just difficult if not impossible to have an actual legitimate discussion on this and similar topics.

Most folks who participate in discussion of this topic aren’t even aware that there are numerous subcategories of “populism,” all across the political spectrum, yet the idea is thrown around as if it were a singular, narrow concept that applies almost exclusively to a single subset of voters.

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Oh, good grief.

Scotts have 421 words for "snow" to describe various fine subtleties in the phenomenon. Yet every preschooler in the US knows it when they see it with only a one word snow vocabulary.

This isn't a difficult, mysterious topic, and unlike what many are claiming here, it's been very clearly differentiated from being just another term for MAGA (although MAGA is 100% populist). I do it almost every time I post on the subject.

The reason people here are confused is:

1. No one comes here for actual serious discussion. Myself included. The OP included. There's plenty of snark in his post to signal that he's not interested in a real discussion about this and his supposed probing question has a "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" quality to it.

People barely read what is posted here and they CERTAINLY don't read what is linked here. They mostly come here to insult others.

2. Populism inherently attracts people who aren't the best and brightest intellectuals on the planet. It is a philosophy for common people with common intellects. Which is exactly why #1 above is true. It's also why there is so much blindly tribal, emotive and reactive, binary thinking here. It’s why probably dozens of people will downvote this post without commenting on it. It’s why at least someone will respond dismissing it because of the length of it, or claim it is a “word salad,” when in reality they simply don’t have the intellect to comprehend it (and they know it).

3. People who are confused about this are confused in the first lace because they also don't understand what "conservatism" means. They think anybody who hates AOC is a conservative.

If anybody wants to know what I mean when I say the word "populist," I've posted it many times before, but here it is again. A populist:

1. Defines life according to being a victim of The Man. Populists on the left define The Man as "institutional racism," or "white people," or "oppressors," or "colonizers" or "The 1% (remember when that Boogey Man was popular?"

Populists on the right define The Man as "The Deep State," "The Establishment (just like hippies in the 60s)," "The Global Elite," "The GOPe," "The Swamp," etc.

The "nuances" you speak of are only differences in the definition of who the Boogey Man is supposed to be. The commonality is that whoever that Boogey Man is supposed to be, a populist explains everything that happens in terms of that Boogey Man.

A populist on the left explains the fact that black men go to prison at a much higher rate than white men entirely in terms of institutional racism. A populist on the right explains the fact that Trump (who barely won the 2016 election by only around 200,000 votes, as I have explained before) lost the 2020 election entirely in terms of massive cheating by the Deep State to the tune of tens of millions of fake ballots.

The Man the explanation for everything, and everything gets blamed on The Man.

That doesn't mean there's no truth to any populist claims, but that’s a discussion for another day. The point is that a populist is quick to take a small grain of truth and blow it up into Mount Vesuvius.

PART II TO FOLLOW