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Why I'm leery of the word "populism"
I'm adapting this from a different thread, because it's something I care about. I worry about "populism" because in the US it has always historically proven to be white supremacy dressed up in the language of economic justice.
The first big incarnation of populism, the "People's Party", endorsed William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Here's something of his from a stump speech:
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/w_bryan_white.html
No one can travel among the dark-skinned races of the Orient without feeling that the white man occupies an especially favored position among the children of men, and the recognition of this fact is accompanied by the conviction that there is a duty inseparably connected with the advantages enjoyed.
There is a white man's burden -- a burden which the white man should not shirk even if he could, a burden which he could not shirk even if he would. That no one liveth unto himself or dieth unto himself, has a national as well as an individual application. Our destinies are so interwoven that each exerts an influence directly or indirectly upon all others.
Sometimes this influence is unconsciously exerted, as when, for instance, the good or bad precedent set by one nation in dealing with its own affairs is followed by some other nation. Sometimes the influence is incidentally exerted, as when, for example, a nation, in the extension of its commerce, introduces its language and enlarges the horizon of the people with whom it trades.
There is a white man's burden -- a burden which the white man should not shirk even if he could, a burden which he could not shirk even if he would. That no one liveth unto himself or dieth unto himself, has a national as well as an individual application. Our destinies are so interwoven that each exerts an influence directly or indirectly upon all others.
Sometimes this influence is unconsciously exerted, as when, for instance, the good or bad precedent set by one nation in dealing with its own affairs is followed by some other nation. Sometimes the influence is incidentally exerted, as when, for example, a nation, in the extension of its commerce, introduces its language and enlarges the horizon of the people with whom it trades.
Later, the populist movement of the 1920s hitched its star to Robert M. LaFollette, who pushed eugenics into Wisconsin social policy. A decade later, the standardbearers of populism were Huey P. Long and Fr. Charles Coughlin, whose racism (I hope) needs no introduction. Long and Coughlin both railed constantly against FDR for giving away too much of the New Deal to minorities (modern thinkers tend to fault him severely for the fact that the New Deal barely included nonwhites at all; even that was too much for the populists of the day) with the result that both broke with FDR by 1936 after supporting him in 1932. FDR, remember, was a Bourbon Democrat, not a populist, at least in terms of the voting coalition he brought to the party.
This era (the 1920s and 1930s) also saw the second resurgence of the KKK, largely in the midwest; the Klan was every bit a "populist" and "progressive" movement in its day (and at this point, Strom Thurmond was a "progressive" Democrat who opposed many of FDR's policies because they involved to some extent white tax money going to blacks -- the progressives and populists wanted a fully functioning social democracy for whites only).
The next populist national leader was George Wallace, who admittedly had a "dynamic" view on racial issues, but only achieved populist success as a virulent racist. This gets to my premise on Bernie: the history of populism has not been of racist demogogues turning aggrieved whites against blacks and immigrants, but of racist aggrieved whites pushing their leaders into increasingly racist positions -- c.f. Wallace's vow never to be "out-n****red" by an opponent again.
The more recent appearance of populism as a self-identified movement hit public attention in 1992 with the Perot fans, who are essentially the same people as the current Tea Party.
Populism -- at least its core ideas -- did precede Bryan (consider the anti-Masonic and anti-immigrant "Know Nothings" of the middle 19th century), but the 1890s was the first time I know of that a movement consistently called itself "populist". At any rate, the consistent theme, at least to my eyes, has been that of aggrieved working class/poor whites, generally rural, and increasingly "ethnic white" as time progressed (and as the "ethnics" became "white"
.
It is a truism, variously attributed to many writers, that if America were entirely white we would have the most socialist government in the developed world, and that's probably true; for an entire book on that question, see Katznelson's "Fear Itself" on the role white supremacy played in the establishment of the New Deal. But the fact remains: government programs that are seen as helping white people (SS, Medicare, SSDI) are viewed highly positively by poor whites, while government programs that are seen as helping nonwhites (SSI, TANF/AFDC, SNAP) are viewed highly negatively by poor whites (in general, of course).
Populism scares me. I admit it. It has nothing to do with the populists' taking on rich people. It has everything to do with the fact that the aggrieved white working class left to its own devices has shown itself to be very, very racist, over and over again.
80 replies
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Hope and Change.
K&R 
It's a good thing that the populism of the LEFT is it's polar opposite; welcoming to all races.
Indeed, people like Eugene V Debs, a socialist populist, was one of the founders of The Industrial Workers of the World (aka 'the Wobblies or just 'the I.W.W'). The I.W.W was unique for a labor union of that time period due to it's welcoming embrace of workers of all races.
One of the IWW's most important contributions to the labor movement and broader push towards social justice was that, when founded, it was the only American union to welcome all workers including women, immigrants, African Americans and Asians into the same organization. Indeed, many of its early members were immigrants, and some, like Carlo Tresca, Joe Hill and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, rose to prominence in the leadership. Finns formed a sizeable portion of the immigrant IWW membership. "Conceivably, the number of Finns belonging to the I.W.W. was somewhere between five and ten thousand."[16] The Finnish-language newspaper of the IWW, Industrialisti, published out of Duluth, Minnesota, was the union's only daily paper. At its peak, it ran 10,000 copies per issue. Another Finnish-language Wobbly publication was the monthly Tie Vapauteen ("Road to Freedom"
. Also of note was the Finnish IWW educational institute, the Work People's College in Duluth, and the Finnish Labour Temple in Port Arthur, Ontario which served as the IWW Canadian administration for several years. One example of the union's commitment to equality was Local 8, a longshoremen's branch in Philadelphia, one of the largest ports in the nation in the WWI era. Led by the African American Ben Fletcher, Local 8 had over 5,000 members, the majority of whom were African American, along with more than a thousand immigrants (primarily Lithuanians and Poles), Irish Americans, and numerous others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Workers_of_the_World
I agree with you cascadiance. Populism is about people power, and left wing populism wants to lift every working man and woman up, regardless of race.
I was merely pointing out that right wing populism (what the OP is describing) is an entirely different animal than left wing populism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_populism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-wing_populism
I, for one, want to have nothing to do with the racist right wing populism of figures like Pat Buchanan, Donald Trump or any of the Tea Party idiots no matter how uphill a battle this election is going to be.
But thank you for your thoughtful post. 
in honor of FDR.
It's mostly rich white Republican and Third Way conservative historical revisionists and their minions who use deceitful anti-New Deal propaganda to try to convince everyone that the New Deal was completely racist. Of course, rich white conservatives hate the New Deal, have always hated the New Deal, and therefore want people to think it was a terrible thing for America, because it helped the middle and working class gain power. In fact, the New Deal was primarily responsible for creating a long term Democratic party ruling political dynasty in the US. The New Deal is also primarily responsible for the overwhelming majority of African Americans historically voting Democratic.
So, should I believe what I see, or what a bunch of rich white conservatives tell me? I'll stop telling the truth about conservatives when they stop lying about everything.
Rosey Grier
Born in Cuthbert, Georgia as one of twelve children, Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time of Grier's birth and was elected president of the United States later that year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Grier
Born in Cuthbert, Georgia as one of twelve children, Grier was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time of Grier's birth and was elected president of the United States later that year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Grier
Roosevelt Williams (gridiron football)
Roosevelt "Roe" Williams, Jr. (born September 10, 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a former American football cornerback of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft, 72nd overall. He received a football scholarship to Florida State University due to being academically ineligible he attended Tuskegee University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Williams_%28gridiron_football%29
Roosevelt "Roe" Williams, Jr. (born September 10, 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a former American football cornerback of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft, 72nd overall. He received a football scholarship to Florida State University due to being academically ineligible he attended Tuskegee University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Williams_%28gridiron_football%29
Roosevelt Taylor
Roosevelt "Rosey" Taylor (born July 4, 1937 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former American football safety who played for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He played college football at Grambling State University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Taylor
Roosevelt "Rosey" Taylor (born July 4, 1937 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former American football safety who played for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He played college football at Grambling State University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Taylor
Rosey Brown (football)
Roosevelt "Rosey" Brown, Jr. (October 20, 1932 – June 9, 2004) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the New York Giants from 1953 to 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Brown
Roosevelt "Rosey" Brown, Jr. (October 20, 1932 – June 9, 2004) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the New York Giants from 1953 to 1965.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Brown
While it is true that Roosevelt, and the New Deal, were not perfect, the fact is, the New Deal made life better all around for most working and middle class Americans.
African Americans and the New Deal: A Look Back in History
As we celebrate Black History Month and reflect on the decades of struggle that was required to bring the African American community into the mainstream of American life, it seems fair to ask what impact, if any, the New Deal had on the movement to secure equal rights for Blacks during the difficult years of the 1930s and beyond.
Judged from the standards of today, of course, there is much we can criticize about the New Deal/Roosevelt era. It did not bring to an end the tremendous injustices that African Americans had to suffer on a day-to-day basis, and some of its activities, such as the work of the Federal Housing Administration, served to build rather than break down the walls of segregation that separated black from white in Jim Crow America. Yet as Mary McLeod Bethune once noted, the Roosevelt era represented “the first time in their history” that African Americans felt that they could communicate their grievances to their government with the “expectancy of sympathetic understanding and interpretation.” Indeed, it was during the New Deal, that the silent, invisible hand of racism was fully exposed as a national issue; as a problem that at the very least needed to be recognized; as something the county could no longer pretend did not exist.
This shift in attitude, as Havard Sitkoff, the noted historian of the African American experience in the New Deal observes, helped propel the issue of race relations onto the national stage and usher in a new political climate in which “Afro-Americans and their allies could begin to struggle with some expectation of success.” In short, the New Deal, and the rhetorical support given to the cause of civil rights by both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt gave the African American community hope; the chance to dream of a better future, no matter how difficult the struggle might be along the way.
It is also important to recognize that this hope was not merely based on empty promises of change, but on the actual words and deeds spoken by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and taken by the federal government at a time when racism was deeply seared into the American psyche. With respect to the critical issue of employment, for example, we know that by 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was employing approximately 350,000 African Americans annually, about 15% of its total workforce. In the Civilian Conservation Corps, the percentage of blacks who took part climbed from roughly 3% at its outset in 1933 to over 11% by the close of 1938 with a total of more than 350,000 having been enrolled in the CCC by the time the program was shut down in 1942. The National Youth Administration, under the direction of Aubrey Williams, hired more black administrators than any other New deal agency; employed African American supervisors to oversee the work the agency was doing on behalf of black youth for each state in the south; and assisted more than 300,000 Africa American youth during the Depression. In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) inserted a clause in all government construction contracts that established a quota for the hiring of black laborers based on the 1930 labor census and as a consequence a significant number of blacks received skilled employment on PWA projects.
http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/african-americans-and-new-deal-look-back-history
As we celebrate Black History Month and reflect on the decades of struggle that was required to bring the African American community into the mainstream of American life, it seems fair to ask what impact, if any, the New Deal had on the movement to secure equal rights for Blacks during the difficult years of the 1930s and beyond.
Judged from the standards of today, of course, there is much we can criticize about the New Deal/Roosevelt era. It did not bring to an end the tremendous injustices that African Americans had to suffer on a day-to-day basis, and some of its activities, such as the work of the Federal Housing Administration, served to build rather than break down the walls of segregation that separated black from white in Jim Crow America. Yet as Mary McLeod Bethune once noted, the Roosevelt era represented “the first time in their history” that African Americans felt that they could communicate their grievances to their government with the “expectancy of sympathetic understanding and interpretation.” Indeed, it was during the New Deal, that the silent, invisible hand of racism was fully exposed as a national issue; as a problem that at the very least needed to be recognized; as something the county could no longer pretend did not exist.
This shift in attitude, as Havard Sitkoff, the noted historian of the African American experience in the New Deal observes, helped propel the issue of race relations onto the national stage and usher in a new political climate in which “Afro-Americans and their allies could begin to struggle with some expectation of success.” In short, the New Deal, and the rhetorical support given to the cause of civil rights by both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt gave the African American community hope; the chance to dream of a better future, no matter how difficult the struggle might be along the way.
It is also important to recognize that this hope was not merely based on empty promises of change, but on the actual words and deeds spoken by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and taken by the federal government at a time when racism was deeply seared into the American psyche. With respect to the critical issue of employment, for example, we know that by 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was employing approximately 350,000 African Americans annually, about 15% of its total workforce. In the Civilian Conservation Corps, the percentage of blacks who took part climbed from roughly 3% at its outset in 1933 to over 11% by the close of 1938 with a total of more than 350,000 having been enrolled in the CCC by the time the program was shut down in 1942. The National Youth Administration, under the direction of Aubrey Williams, hired more black administrators than any other New deal agency; employed African American supervisors to oversee the work the agency was doing on behalf of black youth for each state in the south; and assisted more than 300,000 Africa American youth during the Depression. In 1934, the Public Works Administration (PWA) inserted a clause in all government construction contracts that established a quota for the hiring of black laborers based on the 1930 labor census and as a consequence a significant number of blacks received skilled employment on PWA projects.
http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/african-americans-and-new-deal-look-back-history
that always support the 1% in whatever they do. Well amusing is more like the word I am trying to come up with. Just ignore them, they are the tiny minority here that the rest of us laugh out loud at.
I so appreciate your concern.
And aren't you cute, posting this in GD? We see you.
Some advice: sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Don't worry about the word "populism." It has a great defnition.
If your real worry is the word racism, worry about people who have engaged in racism and race baiting.
the rich. 
