In1967 the US historian, Richard Hofstadter, began a conference paper at the London School of Economics with the following words: ‘Everybody is talking about populism, but no one can define it.’ More than 50 years later, we can hardly turn on a news programme or open a daily paper without seeing references to populism. But what does the term mean? And why is it so prevalent today?
Populism is rarely — if ever — seen as an attribute to be championed by a political movement. It is most often used in disparagement towards opponents. Some academics argue that since the term is used so widely it has no helpful meaning at all. Indeed, a confusing aspect of populism is its location on the traditional left–right political spectrum.
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