When Populism Can Be Good

Abstract: Is populism bad for democracy? This essay, which draws on the authors’ surveys (from Britain, France, Germany, and the U.S.), shows two competing populist tendencies in public opinion: one rooted in political failure and one based on economic unfairness. The political-failure dimension is associated with negative views toward minorities and is hostile to pluralism. By contrast, the economic-unfairness dimension is associated with positive views toward minorities and is hostile to billionaires and large corporations. The authors call this dimension “good populism,” because of its pro-pluralist character. The essay explores why political parties have largely neglected this latent potential of populism.