The populist critique of ‘Corrupted’ representative claim making
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6444974 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Jenkins (0000-0002-7633-7027, University of Otago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 1683-1702 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy & Social Criticism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0191-4537 • E-ISSN: 1461-734X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01914537231222899 |
| OpenAlex | W4389915032 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
Populism sets people against elites. Most discussions of populism focus on the dangers that come with assuming too homogenous a vision of a ‘pure’ people against a ‘corrupt’ elite. However, an obvious question to ask is what elites do, or might do, to court populists ire. In this paper, I draw on Michael Saward’s work on representation to construct an account of populism that focuses on the ways in which elites can conceivably corrupt (and have conceivably corrupted) the institutions responsible for generating the representative claims that are central to democratic life. Specifically, I will sketch an account of the way elites have operated, within the American context, to corrupt the representative functions performed by political parties, those centrally important institutions tasked with producing representative claims within contemporary capitalist, liberal, representative democracies. If we are to properly evaluate populism, whether as an ideology, movement or set of tactics, it is necessary to take seriously and evaluate the stories populists tell of how elites have corrupted democracy. To simply assume they are wrong and dismiss populist critiques of democratic failures as wrong is to replace critical analysis with elite apologism
Context (archaeology · Democracy · Elite · Ideology · Law and economics · Liberal democracy · Oligarchy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Representation (politics · Representative democracy · Sketch · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · History · Law · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Populism, Right-Wing Movements
The Road from Mont Pèlerin
Oligarchy
Against Democracy
The People vs. Democracy
The Fracturing of the American Corporate Elite
Saward’s Concept of the Representative Claim Revisited
Just Because You're Paranoid Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out to Get You
Terrorism and Communism
How Will Capitalism End
Exclusionary vs. Inclusionary Populism
Representation and Democracy
Who Do Populist Radical Right Parties Stand for? Representative Claims, Claim Acceptance and Descriptive Representation in the Austrian FPÖ and German AfD
Representative claims analysis
Realism in political theory
The Populist Zeitgeist
What Does the Ruling Class Do When It Rules
Machiavellian Democracy
Shape-Shifting Representation
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |