Reclaiming Populism

How Economic Fairness Can Win Back Disenchanted Voters

De: Eric Protzer, Paul Summerville

Narrado por: Quentin Cooper

Populist upheavals like Trump, Brexit, and Marine Le Pen happen when the system really is rigged. Citizens the world over are angry not due to income inequality or immigration, but economic unfairness: the sense that opportunity is not equal and reward is not according to contribution. This forensic book draws on original research, cited by the UN and IMF, to demonstrate that illiberal populism strikes hardest when success is influenced by family origins rather than talent and effort. Protzer and Summerville propose a framework of policy inputs that instead support high social mobility, and apply it to diagnose the differing reasons behind economic unfairness in the US, UK, Italy, and France. By striving for a fair, socially-mobile economy, they argue, it is possible to craft a politics that reclaims the reasonable grievances behind populism.

Since the original publication of Reclaiming Populism in 2021 its predictions have continued to prove gravely accurate. Countries afflicted with low social mobility remain mired in political malaise, and in some cases verge on ungovernability. Those with high social mobility, like Canada and the Netherlands, have seen off populist challenges without systemic institutional disruption. Reclaiming Populism is a must-listen for policymakers, scholars, and citizens who want to bring disenchanted populist voters back into the fold of liberal democracy.

©2022 Eric Protzer and Paul Summerville (P)2024 Polity Press

Date-driven debunk of popular myths about populism; common-sense bullseye on fairness of opportunity as the underlying cause.

Data analysis (not just policy opinions) debunking popular myths behind the rise of populism:
1) boomers alarmed at decay of their traditional values;
2) job destruction and income stagnation from globalization;
3) income and wealth inequality;
4) immigration;
5) social media.
Then clear data supporting fairness and its decline as the root cause, both from the right and the left.

I hope every world leader at all levels listens to this concise but compelling analysis and prescription for the biggest issue threatening free democratic and all societies today.

Definitive Guide

Reclaiming Populism is an up-to-date authoritative analysis on populism.
It makes the case that it is inequality of economic opportunity, and not outcome, that is a major factor engendering populism.
It is thoroughly researched and well argued, drawing on numerous other works on the subject.
The narration is articulate and easy to comprehend.
Certainly a gold standard on a very topical issue.
Highly recommended.