What really is Populism?

The concept of "populism"(Or adjective" populist ") has entered the current political scene in a fast and almost forced way. This word, although it is used assiduously by politicians, the media or even citizens of on foot, it does not seem to have a consensual definition and, therefore, its use can lead to confusion.

The formulation and use of words with various meanings is a subject of interest for cultural and political psychology, and therefore that is why we propose to inquire into the bowels of this very ambiguous concept which has come to be used (not always correctly) both to designate a xenophobic movement such as Marine Le Pen's “Front National” or the PODEMOS party led by Pablo Iglesias.

What is "Populism"?

"Populism", understood as a political practice, derives from the Latin word populus which, as it is easily deductible, means town. Interestingly, "democracy", formed by the Greek root of give it also means town. According to the sociologist Gérard Mauger [1], the concept of the people which refers to "democracy"

it is the civic body in the whole of a nation-state. On the contrary, the people who refer to "populism" can be interpreted in two different ways, both conceptions based on different mental representations of reality. The first, the version corresponding to the conservative political prism, refers to the ethnos rather than populus, where its main nuance resides in a logic of social Darwinism. Therefore, xenophobic and exclusive logic, as if culture were a closed something, well delimiting and to a certain point timeless; Furthermore, it seeks to criminalize a political class settled in power.

Conversely, the second version, more likely to be used by left-wing political sectors, does not focus on Social Darwinism, but considered by the people as a whole, without differences except those that intervene in the division of lessons. That is, according to this conception the town is the living body in which culture develops, a confluence of singularities impossible to cover by a single explanatory framework. Politically, it is the people dispossessed by over-empowered elites who try to mold the people according to their interests.

Populism and We Can (Pablo Iglesias)

To these last two conceptualizations proposed by the French sociologist, one could add one whose use lately predominates in the speeches of certain political parties in the Kingdom of Spain. These characteristics could be added in the two proposals of the sociologist. The "populism", used predominantly to designate the political formation PODEMOS (argument used Partido Popular and Partido Socialista Obrero Español), has a somewhat different connotation from the definitions proposed above and, therefore, certainly wrong. The noun seems to denominate a political practice composed of fallacious arguments whose purpose is aimed at attracting an electorate in general (the people) and, ultimately, power. This definition is closer to demagoguery, but the similarities with "populism" and the ease of mixing one with the other are striking.

On the other hand, Ernest Laclau, Argentine political scientist and philosopher, suggests a definition that brings together the division between the two aforementioned views:

"Populism is not a pejorative term. But rather a neutral notion. Populism is a way of constructing politics. The base plays against the top, the people against the elites, the mobilized masses against the official institutions established ”.

Differences between Populism and Demagogy

Understanding "populism" as a political practice that leads the interpretation of problems towards those above, that is, against some political-economic elites, does not lead inexorably to define a political discourse as fallacious (a widespread practice in the argumentative anti-WE CAN). In fact, if we take this definition, “populism” as a fallacious political practice, we could come to call the great populist majority of political parties of the Spanish range, just because they are subject to the logic of electoralism in a democracy representative.

Conversely, “Populism”, as a political practice directed at the appeal of the people against their elites, contributes to the political interventionism of the citizen who are they (or should be), in the first instance, those directly responsible for a democracy. The cases of corruption, the policy of cultural confrontation, the cuts in the public sector... no longer leave room for think about another representation of reality outside the corruption of the current political system and those who perpetuate it.

Notes:

[1] Gérard Mauger is a French sociologist, director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France and deputy director of the Center for European Sociology (CSE).