The Populist Moment

After thirty years of retreat, the last decade has witnessed a resurgent left in the United States and Western Europe. This upsurge of anti-establishment candidates was not only left-wing but also populist. Though in most cases these movements ran out of steam before getting to a position to wield state power, many of the parties and figures associated with this wave of left populism have entered government and others are still contesting high office. Providing a blow-by-blow history of the rise and defeat of this movement, Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger guide us through the conditions that shaped it. Extreme and rising inequality, the collapse of civic life, and a lack of trust in traditional institutions have all played a part. In these circumstances, some form of populism was all but inevitable. And, despite defeats, left offensives will remain populist in nature for the foreseeable future. The formative conditions of crisis are still very much with us.

After thirty years of retreat, the last decade has witnessed a resurgent left in the United States and Western Europe. This upsurge of anti-establishment candidates was not only left-wing but also populist. Though in most cases these movements ran out of steam before getting to a position to wield state power, many of the parties and figures associated with this wave of left populism have entered government and others are still contesting high office. Providing a blow-by-blow history of the rise and defeat of this movement, Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger guide us through the conditions that shaped it. Extreme and rising inequality, the collapse of civic life, and a lack of trust in traditional institutions have all played a part. In these circumstances, some form of populism was all but inevitable. And, despite defeats, left offensives will remain populist in nature for the foreseeable future. The formative conditions of crisis are still very much with us.

"Populism" is what democracy is called when the people vote for the "wrong" things, like Brexit or Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Since 2015, populisms of both the Right and the Left have been challenging Western liberal democratic elites. Thus we are living in "the populist moment." But what does populism mean, and where is it likely to take us? In The Populist Moment: The End of Right vs. Left, Alain de Benoist argues that populism is not a political ideology like Marxism or liberalism. Nor can it be fundamentally understood in terms of the distinction between Right and Left. Instead, populism is a confrontation between "the people" and political "elites" that have become estranged from or hostile to the people. At the core of populism is the demand that governments actually reflect the interests and identities of the people they are supposed to serve. The Populist Moment is a unique contribution to contemporary debates on populism. Scholarly treatments of populism tend to be hostile, while friendly treatments tend to be naïve. Benoist, however, combines down-to-earth populist sympathies with high-level debates in political theory, including extensive discussions of important thinkers like Jean-Claude Michéa, who are little-known outside of the French-speaking world.

"Populism" is what democracy is called when the people vote for the "wrong" things, like Brexit or Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Since 2015, populisms of both the Right and the Left have been challenging Western liberal democratic elites. Thus we are living in "the populist moment." But what does populism mean, and where is it likely to take us? In The Populist Moment: The End of Right vs. Left , Alain de Benoist argues that populism is not a political ideology like Marxism or liberalism. Nor can it be fundamentally understood in terms of the distinction between Right and Left. Instead, populism is a confrontation between "the people" and political "elites" that have become estranged from or hostile to the people. At the core of populism is the demand that governments actually reflect the interests and identities of the people they are supposed to serve. The Populist Moment is a unique contribution to contemporary debates on populism. Scholarly treatments of populism tend to be hostile, while friendly treatments tend to be na?ve. Benoist, however, combines down-to-earth populist sympathies with high-level debates in political theory, including extensive discussions of important thinkers like Jean-Claude Mich?a, who are little-known outside of the French-speaking world.