The Populist Divisive, Activist Ideas

Abstract

In this chapter the ideational roots of the populist ideas are traced back to thinkers like Rousseau, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Carl Schmitt, later to be developed within post-modernism and critical theory. Identity politics, as a politics of resentment and recognition, and as a function of meaning, community, and virtue are discussed and analyzed. I argue that populism, on both the left and the right, is a kind of collectivistic identity politics that appeals to the ‘people’ by constructing narratives that give a sense of belonging and by offering a purpose and meaning.