The Left's Unpopular Populism

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/the-lefts-unpopular-populism-elizabeth-warren-democratic-party/384310/

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The debate between Democrats who want to play up populist themes (let’s call them the Elizabeth Warren camp) and those who favor centrist ones (the Hillary Clinton crowd) ignores a major division among the various themes that carry the populist label. The difference is crucial because, as we will see shortly, the data show that some populist ideas are much less popular than others.

Populism usually refers to the idea that power should rest in the hands of the little guy, and not in the government or some elite. Public-opinion polls show that this basic form of populism has wide appeal. One of every two Americans believes that most politicians are corrupt (51 percent, according to a 2013 poll of national voters); 76 percent that special interests wield too much power; and 88 percent that big money has too much sway. Very low on people’s “trust” lists are all those perceived as powerful, including not just the government but also banks and corporations and labor unions. This kind of populism appeals to both those on the left, such as the Occupy Wall Street folks, and to Tea Partiers. (Polls show that, at least for a while, at least one in 10 Americans favored both!) I call this popular populism.

Much of the appeal is lost—that is, populism becomes much less popular—once leftist themes join the mix. There is little support for policies that look like wealth transfers, taking from the rich and giving to poor, reducing inequality, or making sacrifices for the common good. Large segments of the right and center view these policies as taking from “us” and giving to “them.” That’s why Social Security is so popular, while welfare is not. It’s the reason Medicare is very popular and Medicaid is much less so.

Opinions about what the top problems facing the nation are differ somewhat from poll to poll and over time. However, in one poll after another, popular populism concerns rank much higher than leftist ones. Thus a January 2014 poll found that dissatisfaction with the government, politicians, and poor leadership ranked as the main concerns, with the economy in general as the second. Only 4 percent of respondents ranked poverty, hunger, and homelessness ranked as top concerns, just one percentage point higher than the very unpopular foreign aid. Even among Democrats, dissatisfaction with government ranked three times higher than the rich-poor gap (6 percent).


***delusion in the masses. they think redistribution takes from them.

[sabrina 1]

1. Who is this person? He doesn't have to look at polls to find out what issues are popular

with voters. I know trashing the Left is popular with right leaning centrists but FACTs contradict them every time.

This person should look at what happened in the Mid Terms where 'leftist' (whenever anyone uses that word they identify themselves) issues won across the country when placed on ballots. What didn't win were politicians who did not support them.

Iow, voters did go out to vote for 'leftist' issues but did not vote for elected officials who did not support them.

No polls needed, though most polls do show Liberal/Leftist issues to be very popular across the political spectrum.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

15. And that's with the corporate media pushing RW ideas. Imagine what those polls

would look like if the media told the truth about RW politicians and policies.

[Recursion]

19. One of the biggest names in communitarianism. He's lamenting this fact, but acknowledging it

He's not exactly "rah rah" about the point he's making.

[sabrina 1]

20. Really? Then the standards for that field are pretty low. I just found out in this thread

that he is from the Third Way. He is not lamenting the 'fact' because what he is claiming to be a fact is not a fact.

I never heard of him, but guessed from his rhetoric that he probably was from that Think Tank.

Most polls show huge support for 'populist' issues, for Medicare, SS and Medicaid eg.

But the Third Way doesn't like those programs they want them privatized. Not much difference between this Think Tank and the the Heritage Foundation.

His use of the word 'populist' is a subtle attack on Elizabeth Warren. They tried openly attacking her in December and received so much backlash they will not talk about that article. Now they are doing it more subtly, they think.

He needs some help with communication. The first rule is, 'don't distort facts and assume the people you are communicating with are stupid, you are liable to discredit yourself'. Which is what he just did. I will have to look at some of his work, this is definitely not impressive.

[Recursion]

21. Yes, the mysterious all-encompassing "third way"

Check out communitarianism some time:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communitarianism

For the communitarian, leftist ideology fails to understand the importance of local tradition, identity, and core cultural values that define different communities by taking power away from such local communities and handing it to centralized bureaucratic structures which lack the sensitivity to understand such values and local issues which may thereby arise. Furthermore, the focus of the welfare state on individual rights and entitlements has also eroded many of the traditional family bonds that united people as well as responsibilities to the community that used to exist. Communitarians also critique libertarians and free market capitalists for supporting an economic system that pressures communities into atomizing, thus undermining traditional ties between members of a given community such as within a family.

[sabrina 1]

23. So he supports the Right Wing notion that the most vulnerable members of society should be left to

fend for themselves. And Libertarians of course.

We liberals are making Minorities dependent on us! Where have I heard that before? Oh, yes, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News.

This sounds like a combination of Limbaugh and Right Libertarianism.

There is a lack of understanding of the reality that developed countries don't live in tribal situations or in small towns where people have lived for centuries and have family who will take in grandma when she is widowed or infirm.

They need to come into the present. Grandmas were DYING before FDR decided something had to be done about it.

So, they claim not to be left, not to be right, I guess that makes them the Third Way.

I've never encountered a more elitist, arrogant and ignorant bunch of people even on the Right. These people believe they are above ALL OF US.

Yet, their policies have totally failed, in every country where they managed to gain enough access to influence them.

Neoliberal, Austerity policies will go down in history as among the most destructive in recent history.

The Third Way is far from 'mythical'.

They are very open about who they are. Their Board of Directors is made up almost exclusively of Investment Bankers. Their four founders are so out of touch with average people it is scary.

And they hate Elizabeth Warren, FDR, the Left and anything to the left of Reagan. They do like Reagan though.

[Recursion]

25. Well, no, that's the exact opposite of their view on libertarianism

They think that libertarian ideology atomizes family and community bonds.

[Scuba]

2. A terrible distortion of populism and what the author calls "leftist themes".

[merrily]

11. I"m a proud leftist who uses that word because it conveys something more specific than just

"Democrat" and something more left than center right. I also use traditional Democrat. I don't like the word ""Democrat "progressive" because DLCers revived it and it means different things to different people.

[sabrina 1]

17. Yes, me too. But the way this Third Wayer used it exposes him as NOT from the Left. They pretend

to be 'left' but in reality they hate the left. So, same thing a right winger would do, he addresses the Left from HIS position on the Right.

A leftist would not do that. But the Third Wayers slip all the time as they become more and more desperate as more and more Democrats have become aware that THEY are the problem with our Party.

This article is aimed at Elizabeth Warren. The last time the Third Way attacked her openly, they received a huge backlash and will not discuss what they wrote now.

So now they are doing it they think, more subtly, attacking 'populism' a word associated with her.

[RiverLover]

3. And so it begins. We'll have to get used to this BS coming from conservatives. nt

[merrily]

12. We've been used to it for years. Their bs is beyond boring already.

[mikehiggins]

4. Is AMITAI ETZIONI a known "third way" er?

His article would seem to self-identify him as such. In a world where "communist" and "socialist" are rhetorical "coins of the realm"--especially when so few people have any clear idea of what such terms mean-- left bashing like this is going to increase exponentially as the 2016 anointment of HRC as our candidate approaches. Going to the link provided I failed to find any real description of the "polls" etc. validating Mr. Etzioni's position. Not that it matters, actually. We are a lifetime (politically speaking) away from the primaries. Anything can happen.

[RiverLover]

7. Ha! You nailed it Mike. He is Third Way. (Democratic poser)

In this groundbreaking essay, the US professor Dr Amitai Etzioni offers a powerful account of what the Third Way really means, and roots it in a vision of the 'good society'.

He argues that such societies achieve a dynamic balance between state, market and community, and blends theoretical discussion with the practical implications of such an approach.

At the core of the analysis is the idea that the Third Way is an ethical position that seeks to treat people as ends in themselves. While flexibility and pragmatism are important to the new politics, they should be understood as components of a broader framework in which social progress is measured by more than the accumulation of material goods.

http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/thethirdwaytoagoodsociety

[LondonReign2]

10. What a surprise

Another false flag "Democrat" Third Wayer bashing Democratic ideas

[sabrina 1]

16. I had a feeling the minute I started reading. The use of the word 'leftist' tells us he doesn't

consider himself part of the Left. That stood out right away. The rest was nonsense about polls and nothing at all about the FACTS that the voters spoke loudly and clearly about in the mid terms.

They are going to be all over the place trying to cover the fact that their policies have been rejected, not just here, but everywhere else in the world these Wall St, neo-liberals have imposed them with disastrous results for ordinary people.

I knew he was a Third Way shill. Their rhetoric against the Left is very jaded and very old by now.

[ananda]

5. This is anti-leftist manipulation of a theme for the purposes of an agenda.

Leftist ideas, for the most part, are good ones generally thought out in the spirit of humanity and tolerance.

It's not these ideas which hurt the aims of populism. It's the well-coordinated attacks from all mainstream sectors: politics, media, police tactics, and propaganda.

[KittyWampus]

6. says author worked for Carter and is a Prof> offers a few polls but little real facts to back up

his assertion and the entire article is definitely his opinion and his view of what populism is.

[bklyncowgirl]

8. I don't agree with everything but there are a few good points here.

The reality is that Middle class (basically anyone who has a full time job or wants one if you ask them, most don't see the differences between working and middle class) Americans are suspicious of any whiff of 'redistribution' because they understand full well that when it all comes down to it they, not the 'rich' will be the ones to pony up in the form of higher taxes.

"Why should I give up my hard earned money so that someone who lacks my work ethic and ambition can live in luxury?"

Until we come up with an answer for that which appeals to people's self interest, means tested programs are going to be inherently unpopular. Just so you know, I do not believe that poor people live in luxury--but try telling that to some of my friends. I don't like it but that, folks is reality.

People will support programs that put people to work--not programs let them live on the dole.

Our best arguments are:

A minimum wage that people could actually live on in today's world.

Policies that favor manufacturing here and discourage companies from outsourcing.

Making college affordable.

A massive public works program to bring our infrastructure including our electrical grid up to date.

Medicare for all (a basic, non means tested major medical insurance that can be supplemented by private insurance if a person has the means to pay for it)

Developing responses to globalism and automation which threaten the livelihoods of anyone who does not live off their investments.

[merrily]

9. Yet another centrist panicking and flailing because populism is gaining more and more ground.

Let's poll people on centrism and neoliberalism and see what the poll results are.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited

“Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― John Steinbeck

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Favorable opinion of Medicare 72%; of Medicaid 64%

To this guy, that is "welfare is not popular" and "Medicaid is much less popular than Medicare". Getting a 64% favorable rating is pretty good for anything.

[sabrina 1]

18. He's from the Third Way. They lie about these things. And the article is a subtle attack

on Elizabeth Warren, who they fear more than God. The word 'populist' is associated with her which is why it is being used here. We are going to see lots of this trash over the next two years.

[tblue]

27. Good catch. That's weak.

[NewDeal_Dem]

22. The atlantic now leans right. That explains this BS. I wonder why people are so damn

dissatisfied with government if its not about the distribution of wealth and income that affects everything else, from filthy, garbage-strewn streets to drugs in schools.

[Populist_Prole]

24. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you then......"

The 3rd way doesn't like all this talk of economic populism, not one tiny bit; and...I love it!

[sabrina 1]

28. Yes, it' scaring them to death. They lost us the last several elections because

voters don't like their policies. When Bush was installed in the WH they had it made, we were so desperate we supported anyone with a 'D' after their name. But those days are gone, we've seen the Third Way's policies in action, and the voters are becoming more and more attracted to Populism.

[Populist_Prole]

30. Quite right

I've felt the same way for the past 18-20 years.

[tblue]

26. I thinks it's even simpler than that.

Some folks like to take and hate to give.

Sure they want a "fair shake" for the "little guy" -- as long as the "little guy" is them. And of course they like Social Security and Medicare -- because they believe they will one day receive them.

Some people are just selfish, period. I'd venture to say most people. There are far more takers than givers in this world, imho. Some of them may even mean well, but they're selfish nonetheless.

[sabrina 1]

29. Well the top 1% has taken nearly everything and are hoarding it in offshore accounts

because just taking almost everything from the 'little guy' isn't enough for them, now they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes.

SS WILL be there. The right has been saying it won't for decades. The only way it won't be there is IF we allow the Third Way and Republicans to privatize it and gamble with it on Wall St.

That is the people's money. They are not receiving a gift. They paid into that Insurance policy for their retirement.

You weren't suggesting they didn't earn it were you?