Left-wing Populism

Extracted Attributes

• Challenges

  Free Market Economy principles

• Core Ideology

  Combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes

• Economic Focus

  Focus on economic grievances, blamed on elites for maintaining inequality

• Perceived Enemy

  Socio-economic structures, neoliberal economic elites, large corporations and their allies

• Alternative Name

  Social populism

• Recurring Themes

  Economic democracy, social justice, skepticism of globalization

• Key Rhetoric Elements

  Anti-elitism, opposition to the Establishment, speaking for the common people

• Concept of Nationality

  Not delimited by cultural or ethnic particularisms

• Role of Socialist Theory

  Plays a lesser role than in traditional left-wing ideologies

• Stance on Minority Rights

  Supportive of minority rights

• Link to Government Spending

  Increasing acceptance of socialism is linked to government spending as % of GDP approaching 50%

• Distinction from Right-wing Populism

  Does not exclude others horizontally, relies on egalitarian ideals, advocates an inclusive form of populism

Timeline

• A movement close to left-wing populism emerged in the left-liberal camp, and there was increased debate on new left-wing populism in Europe with the rise of parties like Syriza and Podemos during the European debt crisis. (Source: Wikipedia, Summary)

  2010s

• Left-liberal economic populism appealing to the working class became prominent in countries like the United States (with Joe Biden) and South Korea (with Lee Jae-myung). (Source: Wikipedia, Summary)

  2020s

Left-wing populism

Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often includes elements of anti-elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the common people. Recurring themes for left-wing populists include economic democracy, social justice, and skepticism of globalization. Socialist theory plays a lesser role than in traditional left-wing ideologies. Criticism of capitalism and globalization is linked to unpopular United States military operations, especially those in the Middle East. It is considered that the populist left does not exclude others horizontally and relies on egalitarian ideals. Some scholars also speak of nationalist left-wing populist movements, a feature exhibited by the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua or the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Unlike right-wing populism, left-wing populist parties tend to be supportive of minority rights, as well as to an idea of nationality that is not delimited by cultural or ethnic particularisms. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-described democratic socialists, are examples of modern left-wing populist politicians in the United States. With the rise of Syriza and Podemos during the European debt crisis, there has been increased debate on new left-wing populism in Europe. Traditionally, left-wing populism has been associated with the socialist movement; since the 2010s, there has been a movement close to left-wing populism in the left-liberal camp, some of which are considered social democratic positions. In the 2020s, left-liberal economic populism appealing to the working class has been prominent in some countries, such as with Joe Biden of United States and Lee Jae-myung of South Korea, where liberal and conservative parties are the main two parties.

Web Search Results

• Left-wing populism - Wikipedia

  Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often includes elements of anti-elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the common people.( Recurring themes for left-wing populists include economic democracy, social justice, and skepticism of globalization. Socialist theory plays a lesser role than in traditional left-wing ideologies.( [...] Traditionally, left-wing populism has been associated with the socialist movement; since the 2010s, there has been a movement close to left-wing populism in the left-liberal camp,( some of which are considered social democratic positions.( In the 2020s, left-liberal economic populism appealing to the working class has been prominent in some countries, such as with Joe Biden of United States and Lee Jae-myung of South Korea, where liberal and conservative parties are the main two parties.( [...] The People's Party (United States) "People's Party (United States)"), commonly known as the Populists, was an economically left-wing movement, agrarian in nature. They cast themselves in opposition to big business, particularly the banks and gold standard, and the political establishment controlled by them. It advocated for government intervention in the economy, such as the government ownership of railroads.(

• Psychological similarities and dissimilarities between left-wing and ...

  Consistent with leftists’ desire for greater equality (Bobbio, 1996, Jost, 2006), left-wing populism tends to focus on economic grievances, which are blamed on elites for maintaining inequality that serve the interests of the few at the expense of the hard-working majority (March, 2007, Rooduijn and Akkerman, 2015). Thus, in left-wing populist discourse, ordinary citizens are typically defined in economic terms based on social class. Importantly, left-wing populism—unlike right-wing

• Explainer: Populism - Left and Right, Progressive and Regressive

  Populists can be from the right or left of the political divide; left-wing populists (also known as social populists) combine left-wing politics with populist themes and rhetoric while right-wing populists (also known as national populists) do the same on the right side of the political spectrum. Writing about Western Europe in 2018, Chantal Mouffe argued that the “central axis of political conflict will be between right-wing populism and left-wing populism.” Populism does not always have to be [...] While both left-wing and right-wing populists object to the perceived control of liberal democracies by elites, those on the left also have problems with large corporations and their allies while those on the right focus on external threats. Left-wing populists perceive the enemy of the people to be socio-economic structures rather than particular groups of people. Right-wing populists define the enemy of the people to be “other” people, such as immigrants, refugees, etc. They tend to be [...] The picture for left-wing populism looks rather different, lacking this _prima facie_ contradiction with democracy. As an example, the Workers’ Party (PT) in Brazil has built a notably diverse coalition of support, still making the claim that the party represents the interests of “the people” against the elite. However, the claim that a party or politician speaks for the authentic and singular people can become difficult to square with democracy, as the descent of Venezuela into

• Left-wing Populism - An overlooked threat for Europe?

  Left-wing populism has traditionally been a phenomenon in Latin America, exemplified by the more moderate former Bolivian President Evo Morales or Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Although their actual political agendas may differ as much as one could imagine, they are but united in a similar style of doing politics: focusing on a supposed “common will of the people” while relegating the observance of democratic processes to the background. [...] In contrast, left-wing populism is still very much in its infancy across the EU. Belgian political scientist Chantal Mouffe laid the ideological foundation for the European variant via her book “For a Left Populism”, in which she advocates for the political left to also make more use of populist techniques. In this way, its distinction to right-wing populism lies in the pronounced enemies of the people: instead of migrants, left-wing populists would fight against neoliberal economic elites. A [...] common element of populism across both political spectrums includes sceptical stances on the EU. For its right-wing version, the EU represents a threat to what it regards as being the central political unit - the Nation-State. Left-wing populism follows a similar idea, albeit with a different reasoning. Ethnic considerations make way for a more economically focused challenge to the EU. Decisions from Brussels would undermine the interests of local populations, who should be protected from the

• European Populism, From Left to Right | Institut Montaigne

  Left-wing populist opposition to Europe does not rest on the same basis as that of their Right-wing counterparts. More generally, Left-wing populists advocate an inclusive form of populism, as opposed to the Right. The difference in their notions of "the people" is essential. For Right-wing populists, the term basically refers to the common people. Those on the Left may also address the "plebs", like Mélenchon does when he speaks to "_les gens_" (French for "the people"). But for them, the term [...] There are fewer populists on the Left end of the spectrum than there are on the Right. Spain is the only country where a Left-wing populist party is in power, as part of a coalition. However, Left-wing populists are no less of a political reality. They are characterized by a number of specificities and differences that sometimes fuel heated debates within their ranks. This is the case when it comes to the euro, for example, or to the EU, which they all criticize but for which they do not [...] exceptions, as is the case of the support for Eric Zemmour in France that is more interclassisits than the more obvious class lines amongst Marine le Pen voters. Left-wing populist voters, on the other hand, are more likely to be educated, urban middle-class citizens with jobs in the public sector.