Left-wing populism – Wikipedia

Political ideology that combines left-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes

Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often consists of anti-elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the "common people".[1] Recurring themes for left-wing populists include economic democracy, social justice, and scepticism of globalization. Socialist theory plays a lesser role than in traditional left-wing ideologies.[2][3]

Criticism of capitalism and globalization is linked to antimilitarism, which has increased in left populist movements due to unpopular United States military operations, especially those in the Middle East.[4] It is considered that the populist left does not exclude others horizontally and relies on egalitarian ideals.[1] Some scholars also speak of nationalist left-wing populist movements, a feature exhibited by the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua or the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Unlike exclusionary or right-wing populism, left-wing populist parties tend to claim to be supportive of minority rights,[5] as well as to an idea of nationality that is not delimited by cultural or ethnic particularisms.[6]

With the rise of Syriza and Podemos during the European debt crisis, there has been increased debate on new left-wing populism in Europe.[7][8] Traditionally, left-wing populism has been associated with the socialist movement; since the 2010s, there has been a movement close to left-wing populism in the left-liberal camp,[9][10][11][12][13] some of which are considered social democratic positions.[14][15] Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-described democratic socialists, are examples of modern left-wing populist politicians.[16][17][18][19]

Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner (the President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015) and her husband Nstor Kirchner were said to practice Kirchnerism, a variant of Peronism that was often mentioned alongside other Pink tide governments in Latin America. During Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner's time in office, she spoke against certain free trade agreements, such as the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. Her administration was characterized by tax increases, especially on agricultural exports during the late 2000s commodities boom, Argentina's main export, in order to fund social programs such as the PROGRESAR university scholarships, the universal allocation per child subsidy (commonly referred to as AUH in Argentina, Asignacin Universal por Hijo), a means-tested benefit to families with children who qualified for the subsidy, and progressive social reforms such as the recognition of same-sex marriage.

The leadership of Siles Zuazo practised left-wing populism[20] as well as that of former socialist President Evo Morales.[21]

Lulism is a pragmatic centre-left ideology to the extent that it is called "socialist neoliberalism",[22] but it appeals to a progressive, common-class image and also has populist elements in terms of popular mobilization.[23]

Rafael Correa, the former President of Ecuador, has stressed the importance of a "populist discourse" and has integrated technocrats to work within this context for the common Ecuadorians. Correa has blamed foreign non-governmental organizations for exploiting the indigenous people in the conflict between the indigenous peoples and the government.[24][25][26]

The current governing party, the National Regeneration Movement, is a left-wing populist party.[27]

Huey Long, the Great Depression-era Governor-turned-Senator of Louisiana, was one of the first modern American left-wing populists in the United States, advocating for wealth redistribution under his Share Our Wealth plan, which had its roots in the classical left-wing populist movement of Jacksonian democracy,[28] which is related to the radical movement.[29][30][31]

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-described democratic socialists, are examples of modern left-wing populist politicians.[16][17][18][19] Ocasio-Cortez's Democratic primary victory over the establishment Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries. The Nation magazine described Ocasio-Cortez as a "new rock star" who was "storming the country on behalf of insurgent populists."[32] Elizabeth Warren is also mentioned as a representative left-wing or liberal populist,[12][13][33] and she is sometimes evaluated as a social democrat.[14][15][34]

The presidency of Hugo Chvez resembled a combination of folk wisdom and charismatic leadership with doctrinaire socialism.[21] Chvez's government was also described as a "throwback" to populist nationalism and redistributism.[35]

Yesh Atid is a radical centrist or liberal party. In Israeli politics, "liberal" is not particularly a concept that is distinguished by left or right, but Yesh Atid is evaluated that it has a left-wing populist element in part. They criticize elitism that causes political corruption and demand a position on material redistribution.[9] However, Yesh Atid has an element of economic liberalism simultaneously.[36]

Reiwa Shinsengumi, led by Tar Yamamoto, is a representative Japanese left-wing populist movement. While he and his party use anti-capitalist rhetoric, they are sometimes called "liberal populist".[10]

South Korea's leftist political party, the Progressive Party, advocates direct democracy, anti-neoliberalism and anti-imperialism. They support a liberal-nationalist foreign policy hostile to Japan.

Lee Jae-myung, one of DPK's major politicians, has been compared to "Bernie Sanders" or mentioned as a "populist" in some media outlets.[37][38][11][39] Lee Jae-myung pledged to implement the world's first universal basic income system if elected in the 2022 South Korean presidential election but said he would not pay for it if the people opposed it.[40][41] South Korea's right-wing politician Hong Joon-pyo saw Lee Jae-myung in September 2021 and accused him of being "Chvez of Gyeonggi Province".[42] However, there is controversy in South Korea as to whether Lee Jae-myung can be viewed as a "left-wing populist" in the context of the United States or Europe. He once said he was "conservative" and suggested policies far from general left-wing populism in the United States and Europe, partially insisting on economic liberal policies such as deregulating companies on some issues.[43][44] In addition, he showed a somewhat conservative tendency on some social agendas.[45] In addition, Kim Hyun-jong, the head of the International Trade Special Division at the Lee Jae-myung Camp, met with Henry Kissinger, and Henry Kissinger gave Lee Jae-myung a handwritten autograph called "Good wishes".[46] In addition, Lee Jae-myung's political orientation was somewhat ambiguous, so conservative journalist Dong-A Ilbo denied that he was a left-wing politician, while South Korea's far-left organization Workers' Solidarity evaluated him as a social democratic. (However, another South Korean left-wing undongkwon group denied that Lee Jae-myung is not a social democratic.)[47][48][49]

The Party of Democratic Socialism was explicitly studied under left-wing populism, especially by German academics.[50] The party was formed after the reunification of Germany, and it was similar to right-wing populists in that it relied on anti-elitism and media attention provided by charismatic leadership.[51] The party competed for the same voter base with the right-wing populists to some extent, although it relied on a more serious platform in Eastern Germany. This was limited by anti-immigration sentiments preferred by some voters, although the lines were, for example, crossed by Oskar Lafontaine, who used a term previously associated with the Nazi Party, Fremdarbeiter ("foreign workers"), in his election campaign in 2005.[51] The PDS merged into the Left Party in 2007.[52] The Left Party is also viewed as a left-wing populist party,[53] but it is not the basis of the party as a whole.

Syriza, which became the largest party since January 2015 elections, has been described as a left-wing populist party after its platform incorporated most demands of the popular movements in Greece during the government-debt crisis. Populist traits in Syriza's platform include the growing importance of "the People" in their rhetoric and "us/the people against them/the establishment" antagonism in campaigning. On immigration and LGBT rights, Syriza is inclusionary. Syriza itself does not accept the label "populist".[54][55]

The Italian Five Star Movement (M5S), which became the largest party in the 2018 general election, has often been described as a big tent populist party,[56][57] but sometimes also as a left-wing populist movement;[58] the "five stars", which are a reference to five critical issues for the party, are public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, right to Internet access, and environmentalism, typical proposals of left-wing populist parties.[59] However, despite its background in left-wing politics, the M5S has often expressed right-wing views on immigration.[60]

In September 2019, the M5S formed a government with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and the left-wing Free and Equal(LeU), with Giuseppe Conte at its head.[61][62] The government has been sometimes referred to as a left-wing populist cabinet.[63]

The Socialist Party has run a left-wing populist platform after dropping its communist course in 1991.[64] Although some have pointed out that the party has become less populist over the years, it still includes anti-elitism in its recent election manifestos.[65] It opposes what it sees as the European superstate.

The left-wing populist party Podemos achieved 8% of the national vote in the 2014 European Parliament election. Due to avoiding nativist language typical of right-wing populists, Podemos can attract left-wing voters disappointed with the political establishment without taking sides in the regional political struggle.[66] In the 2015 election for the national parliament, Podemos reached 20.65% of the vote and became the third largest party in the parliament after the conservative People's Party with 28.71% and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party with 22.02%. In the new parliament, Podemos holds 69 out of 350 seats, which has resulted in the end of the traditional two-party system in Spain.[67] In a November 2018 interview with Jacobin, igo Errejn argues that Podemos requires a new "national-popular" strategy to win more elections.[68]

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Left-wing populism - Wikipedia