Tuesday , November 5 2024
Home / Mike Norman Economics / Andrew Batson — Mudde & Kaltwasser on populism

Andrew Batson — Mudde & Kaltwasser on populism

Summary:
I found Populism: A Very Short Introduction by Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser to be very useful and conceptually clear, a worthy addition to Oxford’s charming Very Short Introductions series.The real contribution of the book is that it provides a definition of populism that is both conceptually clear and empirically useful–no mean feat. Here it is: We define populism as a thin-centered ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic camps, “the pure people” versus “the corrupt elite,” and which argues that politics should be an expression of the general will of the people.  Populism must be understood as a kind of mental map through which individuals analyze and comprehend political reality. It is not so much a coherent

Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important: , ,

This could be interesting, too:

Joel Eissenberg writes Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others

Robert Waldmann writes Popularism = Populism = Soak the Rich *and* Spread it Out Thin

Frances Coppola writes When populism fails

Barkley Rosser writes Pushing Back For Democracy Around The World

I found Populism: A Very Short Introduction by Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser to be very useful and conceptually clear, a worthy addition to Oxford’s charming Very Short Introductions series.
The real contribution of the book is that it provides a definition of populism that is both conceptually clear and empirically useful–no mean feat. Here it is:
We define populism as a thin-centered ideology that considers society to be ultimately separated into two homogeneous and antagonistic camps, “the pure people” versus “the corrupt elite,” and which argues that politics should be an expression of the general will of the people. 
Populism must be understood as a kind of mental map through which individuals analyze and comprehend political reality. It is not so much a coherent ideological tradition as a set of ideas that, in the real world, appears in combination with quite different, and sometimes contradictory, ideologies.…
The difference between populist democracy and liberal democracy is that the former posits the tyranny of the majority, while the latter protects minorities with legal rights.

Andrew Batson's Blog

Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *