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It is a strange axiom but I have yet to see it otherwise: when the will of the people is Leftward, it is Democracy; when the will of the people is Rightward, it

It is a strange axiom but I have yet to see it otherwise: when the will of the people is Leftward, it is Democracy; when the will of the people is Rightward, it is Populism. The person that responded to you employed a classic "anti-rightward" trope equating populism to vicarious elite control. I fail to see the difference between Populism and Democracy on the "people" side of the equation, rather the difference is in which elites are pulling the strings.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago
No, it's still called populism when it comes from the left. Bernie Sanders was described as a populist.
IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago
If only there were some book or website defining terms, so one wouldn’t be tempted to make up definitions fitting one‘s politics on the spot. „Populism is a range of political approaches that deliberately appeal to 'the people', often juxtaposing this group against the "elite".“ There is plenty of left-wing populism, by the way. Jeremy Corbyn, Chavez/Maduro, Yannis Varoufakis, etc.
- vokep 8y ago
  By that definition, isn't that basically 90% of everything? And no doubt it applies to leftists, absolutely. That's the basis of a lot of right wing views: that the left is simply being populist and doesn't give a shit about actually improving life, but instead staying in power. Of course, that's about the left's view of the right as well. Hmmmm.
dragonwriter 8y ago
Sanders and Trump were both (accurately, too) described as populist, Clinton and Bush both not. If one had to align them left to right, they would look like: Sanders -> Clinton -> Bush -> Trump . > I fail to see the difference between Populism and Democracy on the "people" side of the equation Democracy is a system of government, Populism is a manner in which a hopeful leader (often a candidate for leadership position in a democracy) attempts to appeal to the public. They aren't even in the same domain.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago

No, it's still called populism when it comes from the left. Bernie Sanders was described as a populist.

IfOnlyYouKnew 8y ago

If only there were some book or website defining terms, so one wouldn’t be tempted to make up definitions fitting one‘s politics on the spot. „Populism is a range of political approaches that deliberately appeal to 'the people', often juxtaposing this group against the "elite".“ There is plenty of left-wing populism, by the way. Jeremy Corbyn, Chavez/Maduro, Yannis Varoufakis, etc.

vokep 8y ago
By that definition, isn't that basically 90% of everything? And no doubt it applies to leftists, absolutely. That's the basis of a lot of right wing views: that the left is simply being populist and doesn't give a shit about actually improving life, but instead staying in power. Of course, that's about the left's view of the right as well. Hmmmm.

dragonwriter 8y ago

Sanders and Trump were both (accurately, too) described as populist, Clinton and Bush both not. If one had to align them left to right, they would look like: Sanders -> Clinton -> Bush -> Trump . > I fail to see the difference between Populism and Democracy on the "people" side of the equation Democracy is a system of government, Populism is a manner in which a hopeful leader (often a candidate for leadership position in a democracy) attempts to appeal to the public. They aren't even in the same domain.