Populism Quotes

“Mario Perniola, Disgusti. Le nuove tendenze estetiche”

“The country is doomed when politicians start saying what the people want to hear.”

“Wikipedia: Populism”

“Catering to populist anger with extremist proposals that are certain to fail is not a viable strategy for political success.”

“The time has come to move beyond eco-elitism to eco-populism.”

“"Populists" believe in conspiracies and one of the most enduring is that a secret group of international bankers and capitalists, and their minions, control the world's economy.”

“Democrats have to figure out why the white working class just voted overwhelmingly against its own economic interests, not pretend that a bit more populism would solve the problem.”

“Populism is a path that, at its outset, can look and feel democratic. But, followed to its logical conclusion, it can lead to democratic backsliding or even outright authoritarianism.”

“With a woman's selflessness and kindness, I look to end populism and political wrangling between the blue and green camps in the coming (2016 ROC) presidential election against Tsai (Ing-wen).”

“Popularity is what you get when lots of people like a thing. Populism is what you get when a small group of people tell you that everyone likes a thing and if you don’t like it, you’re a traitor.”

“I feel like they’re not willing to embrace the populist views in their entirety...Like, 'We need economic populism, but not cultural.' Why do they think that people are bifurcated like that? Because they’re not.”

“Populism is a self-interested and selfish creed that promotes cronies, recklessly seeks out scapegoats, and needs to be seen for what it is. If it's not supported, nationally and in the media, then it will be defeated.”

“We have been given an assignment as a monarchy, and we do as well as we can … We try to be as little populistic as possible. We don't do anything on the spur of the moment to win an opinion poll, or short-term popularity.”

“Populism is the simple premise that markets need to be restrained by society and by a democratic political system. We are not socialists or communists, we are proponents of regulated capitalism and, I might add, people who have read American history.”

“We must not succumb to irresponsible populism. We mustn't succumb to excessive commercialism. We must not tolerate narrow-minded nationalism, discrimination, or xenophobia. Political abuse through violence and discriminatory rhetoric that threatens free speech are absolutely unacceptable.”

“No mass left-wing movement has ever been built on a majoritarian strategy. On the contrary, every such movement-socialism, populism, labor, civil rights, feminism, gay rights, ecology-has begun with a visionary minority whose ideas were at first decried as impractical, ridiculous, crazy, dangerous, and/or immoral.”

“No chord in populism reverberates more strongly than the notion that the robust common sense of an unstained outsider is the best medicine for an ailing polity. Caligula doubtless got big cheers from the plebs when he installed his horse as proconsul.”

“When Donald Trump accepts the Republican nomination on Thursday in Cleveland, it will represent a stunning moment in American politics - The triumph of a raw populism, embodied by a shameless demagogue, over both the official establishment and the official ideology of a major political party.”

“Populism is at its essence [...] just determined focus on helping people be able to get out of the iron grip of the corporate power that is overwhelming our economy, our environment, energy, the media, government. [...] One big difference between real populism and what the Tea Party thing is, is that real populists understand that government has become a subsidiary of corporations. So you can't say, let's get rid of government. You need to be saying let's take over government.”

“...populism, which is regularly invoked as a model by the majoritarians, is at bottom a form of identity politics or cultural nationalism for so-called ordinary people. Populism and "workerism," like other variants of nationalism, define membership in a political community through the exclusion of others and defend the received values of that community against outsiders. Such movements equate collective values with dominant values, denying conflict and punishing dissidence within their own ranks.”