populism

noun

pop·​u·​lism ˈpä-pyə-ˌli-zəm 

plural populisms

1

: a political philosophy or movement that represents or is claimed to represent the interests of ordinary people especially against the Establishment (see establishment sense 2a)

Populism usually arises from a general discontent. … People feel that things are out of control, socially and economically. … The idea that this is the fault of the meritocratic elite is an easy sell.

—Nicholas Lemann

… anti-government populism is beginning to give way to the more classic, anti-corporate populism …

—Leslie Savan

… Elizabeth Warren summoned the familiar and fiery spirits of Democratic populism. "Our job is to fight for the families of America," the Massachusetts Senator yelled over applause. … "Stitch up the tax loopholes so that millionaires and billionaires pay at the same tax rate as the people in this room."

—Jay Newton-Small

There are few things more terrifying than demagogic populism, sharpened dangerously into authoritarian rule, with minorities left at the mercy of those now in charge of writing and enforcing the laws.

—George Takei

The move comes amid a rise in economic populism in the GOP, Republican strategist John Feehery told the Washington Examiner. Even as the party writ large is generally supportive of the business community, an insurgent crop of Republican lawmakers is pursuing a more working-class-friendly agenda …

—Samantha-Jo Roth

sometimes, specifically : the political and economic doctrines advocated by the Populists (see populist entry 1 sense 1b)

… the nativist populism of the 1890s, the political and social movement of poor and dispossessed farmers who saw the source of their plight as the controllers of money and the rule of gold …

—Daniel Bell

2

: general concern for ordinary people

… a profile of James Brown in Look, in February of 1969. The article celebrated Mr. Brown's business empire … and his populism (traveling a hundred thousand miles a year to reach three million fans where they lived; capping ticket prices at five dollars for adults and ninety-nine cents for children under twelve) …

—Philip Gourevitch

Examples of populism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film deals with the transition from populism in Argentina and the influence of American intervention in Latin America, reflecting on the country’s history over the past 50-60 years. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Feb. 2025

The rise of populism in an age of celebrification also plays into the coarsening of discourse. —Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025

But this is the way in which this centrist consensus itself produces populism. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2025

In France, President Emmanuel Macron, once a centrist bulwark against far-right populism, has adopted rhetoric closer to Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration stance. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025

Anti-Trumpists eager to formulate a compelling alternative should study the deeper history of American populism. —Harry Boyte and Trygve Throntveit, TIME, 4 Jan. 2025

While Republicans didn’t win in a realignment-like electoral landslide, Mr. Trump’s conservative populism won the policy debate decisively enough. —Nate Cohn, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024

Biden, the nation’s oldest commander-in-chief, strode stiffly into the ceremony flanked by Harris after both failed to deliver on Democratic hopes to turn the page on the era of Trump’s bombastic populism. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2025

Just look at Europe’s inflation and energy crisis driving voters to populism. —Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from popul(ist) entry 1 + -ism

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined at sense 2