Populism
Populism is a moralistic political belief on a progressive view of the world as morally pure and unified. In the political arena, the populist ideology is peddled under the prefix that few elites in the society make key decisions that influence the social order. Populists hold onto the conviction that they hold the majority will. They believe that the political class comprises immoral people who are corrupt and sideline the minority group in their policies. According to the French philosopher Claude Lefort, populists only relate to those who hold the same ideology. There is a common say among the populist that real people are rooted in the actual citizens. Populism is viewed as a representative democracy where the ruling class comes from the majority class. It believes in globalization’s power, where people should go onto a single economic, social, and political view. Populism only exists where the leaders speak on behalf of the people.
The research focuses on the impact of populism on democracy in the United States. The concept of populism hold on a unanimous view of the majority. Holding onto a single political ideology threatens the democratic view where every opinion should count in key policies. The Greeks and the Romans philosophers viewed the populism concept in three senses. They have the view of people as a whole, the common people, and the nation. Populists believe in globalization with a distinctive cultural sense. In the US, democracy overrules populism as per the dictates of the constitution. However, the Democrats continue to advocate for populist principles such as globalization, as seen under the Obama Administration. It is not different from what we expect in the Biden Administration, where the view for the common people’s advocacy becomes a priority.
Background Information
US politics continue to experience different twists on the verge between populism and democracy. Advocacy for the common people is the priority among the populists. They believe that the innocent, pure, and hardworking Americans deserve their better share from the right-wing elite. The racial minorities who are the liberal elites are against the populist ideology. The same idea was evidenced during the 2016 presidential campaign when Donald Trump questioned the birth certificate of the then-president Barack Obama. The assertion about Obama’s birth legitimacy was to justify that the minority groups cannot occupy the top political offices meant for the white elites. On the other hand, the populist ideologists believe that it is time to distinguish the moral from the immoral and corrupt from the pure.
Populists claim to represent the majority community who lack fair representation in the political arena. Their approach to leadership is to have everyone represented in decision making and governance. Therefore, it is clear that populism can either arm or benefit democracy. Its outcome in the political arena depends on the view of those in power. The distinction between the Trump Administration from Obama Administration demonstrates the role of populist ideology in the political system. President Obama acted as a populist who wanted to unite the American citizens under the umbrella of open-thinkers. Through his populist ideology, president Obama sold himself to the Americans as an individual who believes in the people’s power. He ran his campaign under the slogan of ‘Yes We Can’ meaning that his presidency was not for a few political elites but the common people. His populist ideology gave hope to the American communities, especially the minority groups, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Indian Americans.
Research Questions
In response to the outlined area of study, the research considers the following questions to assess the connection between populism and democracy in the US.
How did the Obama Administration demonstrate the concept of populist ideology?
How has President Trump upheld the dictates of American Democracy in his domestic policies?
What is the difference between the Trump Administration to that of Obama?
Do Americans need populist leaders or democratic ones?
Is the progressive ideology of populist leaders a threat to American democracy?
How has the Trump Administration manifested the white supremacist and dominance of liberal elites in American politics?
What are some of the challenges faced by Obama as a populist president?
Signiant of the Study
The research seeks to understand the impact of the populist ideology on democracy in American politics. The study will compare the Trump Administration has a conservative regime governed by long outstanding democratic views and the Obama Administration based on the populist ideology. The Trump Administration has been viewed as that of the political elite comprising of the conservatives. The majority of the Democrats felt alienated under Trump’s leadership. The populists view Trump as immoral and corrupt and, as an individual, only interested in protecting the status quo. Populists believe that they are the only ones morally obligated to represent the will of the people. They feel to be obligated to speak on behalf of the common people. Populism seems to befit democracy as it allows full representation of the common people. It allows hard-working Americans to have fair compensation for their work. Besides, the populists believe that the key political decisions should not be left to the few elite but for everyone, including the common people. As evidenced among the democrats, the populist believes in moral justification to represent Americans’ interests. Therefore, the study outcome will help understand the influence of the populist ideology on American democracy.