L24. Populism Rising - 21st Century

Question 1

Is populism democratic power or manipulation?

Answer 1

It does have genuine democratic value
- wanting to shift power to the people
- wanting to engage in more direct forms of political emancipation

Destructive of democratic processes
- cannot produce enduring democratic structures and relationships
- relies on fundamentally undemocratic practices

Question 2

What is political ideology

Answer 2

a spectrum with extremes

Question 3

Describe left-wing ideals

Answer 3

“progessive”
- advocates for public control and regulation of economic activities
- redistribution (equality)

Question 4

Describe conservative ideals

Answer 4

“right”
- private control and little/no regulation of economic activities
- competition (growth)

Question 5

What are the characteristics of populism

Answer 5

• not defined by ideology
  has common characteristics
• charismatic leader (centered by a single person typically, parties are mostly vehicles for that persons personal goals)
• “the people” (seeks or claims to seek to return power to the people, could be along the lines of racial or national identity)
• Other party as enemies (sees other parties as flat wrong, unwise, detrimental, and fundamentally loyal to the state)
• focus on similar groups as the enemies (almost universally the elites and “experts”)
• political establishments (seen as corrupt and only serving a small segment of society)

Question 6

How does populism manifest is right-wing leaders?

Answer 6

• create polarization between people and immigrants
• almost always male (cater to gender roles)
• cater to rural, low income, low education (religious) men

Question 7

How does populism manifest in left-wing leaders ?

Answer 7

• position the political elites as serving those who benefit from the forces of globalization (criticize the global elite)
• can have anti-semitic values

Question 8

Examples of contemporary populism in Canada

Answer 8

• ford nation (provincial level populist movement centered in Toronto and Ontario)
• People’s Party of Canada (federal)