Of Scribes and Tribes: Progressive Politics and the Populist Challenge

What has made progressives-self-styled champions of the people-the principal targets of populist resentment in contemporary politics? Perhaps it is progressives' ambivalence about democracy, not merely the racist, sexist and nationalist passions that progressives prefer to blame. Indeed, one of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical review (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2019-10, Vol.31 (3-4), p.440-453
Main Author: Yack, Bernard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
Blame
Democracy
democratic theory
Discomfort
Elitism
Empowerment
Enlightenment
Nationalism
Politics
Populism
Praise
Progressivism
Racism
Resentment
Social justice
Tribes and tribal systems
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Summary:What has made progressives-self-styled champions of the people-the principal targets of populist resentment in contemporary politics? Perhaps it is progressives' ambivalence about democracy, not merely the racist, sexist and nationalist passions that progressives prefer to blame. Indeed, one of the reasons that progressives find themselves under attack as out-of-touch elitists may be that they are out of touch with the nature and extent of their elitism. So long as progressives remain committed to enlightening the people as well as empowering them, to bringing about social improvement as well as social justice, they are bound to express some discomfort with democracy, no matter how sincerely they may praise it. If they want to mount a more effective response to the populist challenge to progressive politics, then, they need first to acknowledge and address the sources of their ambivalence about democracy.
ISSN:0891-3811
1933-8007
DOI:10.1080/08913811.2019.1671682