In defence of left-wing populism - 0 views
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In Greece, Syriza, born of a coalition of different left movements around Synaspismos, the former eurocommunist party of the interior, succeeded in creating a new type of radical party. Its objective was to challenge neoliberal hegemony through parliamentary politics. The aim was clearly not the demise of liberal democratic institutions but rather their transformation into vehicles for the expression of popular demands.
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Arabica Robusta on 03 Jun 18This is such a naive, myopic description!
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Even if it was reformed, it is not always possible or desirable to force democratic demands expressed through horizontal social movements into the hierarchical verticalist mode. We need a new form of political organisation that can articulate both modes, where the unity of progressive people will be constituted not, as in the case of right-wing populism, by the exclusion of immigrants, but by the determination of an adversary represented by neoliberal forces. This is what I understand by “left-wing populism”.
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The agonistic struggle is more than a struggle between conflicting hegemonic projects. It is a struggle about the construction of the people. It is important for the left to grasp the nature of this struggle. Seen in terms of a “collective will”, “the people” are always a political construct.
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