“Populism” versus “Popular”: A Response to Ziarek’s “Populism—A Crux or Crisis of Politics?”

Abstract

Abstract:This article discusses two main issues Ziarek highlights regarding populist social movements. The first one is the exclusionary stance populist movements take when contending for power in a democratic society. The second one is the repressive response to contenders when populist movements are in power. The underlying characteristic in both issues is that populists movements assume an anti-pluralist stance against other contending alternatives. Therefore, the distinction between “popular” and “populist” is an important one.