Beyond Populism.

• Author: Kovel, Joel

[Joel Kovel is a candidate for the Green Party nomination for US President. --Editor]

Today, one of the most influential models on the left is that of Populism. As the word suggests, Populism stems from the "people," which is to say, the common citizenry, without respect to structural dividing lines like class, gender and ethnicity, who come together to address a mutually perceived social evil, most commonly, concentrated economic power. The term has a rich history in the US, where populist movements became quite substantial toward the close of the 19th century and have continued to play a role in politics right up through the present.

Although these forces were originally concentrated in rural areas, populist movements today encompass very diverse sections of the population. It is this element of diversity and spontaneity, along with the hostility to established power, the search for justice, and the sense of rootedness in American democratic tradition, that leads many greens to consider themselves populists.

There is no question that much good has come out of populism (for example, it played an important role in the passage of anti-trust legislation early in the last century), and that many good people have been, and continue to be, attracted to its banner. However, there are also a number of compelling reasons why populism is not in itself an adequate basis for a coherent and comprehensive green strategy.

Populism builds on resentment and anger against abusive power. That is its primary motivating force and a considerable source of its appeal.

The populist has, in effect, a free ticket of entry into the political arena, where he can count on powerful emotions to bring his points forward. That can be all to the good--but it can also have some noxious side effects. We can sort these into two kinds:

First, the politics of resentment can easily turn into the politics of exclusion, scapegoating and demagoguery. That is why, along with the many virtuous people who have marched under the populist banner, have come more than a fair share of dubious characters who, exploiting a charisma that is itself utterly foreign to green values, combine populist virtues with various malignant tendencies. Some of these, like Louisiana's Huey Long, enacted benefits for the poor, but at an unacceptable cost of demagoguery and corruption. Others, like Father Coughlin, had some profound insights into the evils of finance capital, but ended up an anti-semite and...