Essay on "Populism: Appealing but Unrealistic the United States"
Essay 5 pages (1802 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Populism: Appealing but UnrealisticThe United States is a representative democracy, a philosophical concept which is often misunderstood. The premise was essentially a compromise in which the desire of some Founding Fathers to see the nation raised in a democratic spirit was matched with the intention of others to retain a classicist hierarchy based on traditional delineations of social, economic and ethnic distinction. The outcome was this concept in which the people would be given some level of electoral determination in who was to represent them but would be kept at an arm's length from such direct involvement as the drafting of laws, budgetary control or determination of foreign policy. The result is a nation which has often made as a key feature of its rhetorical identity a nation of populism but which has just as fervently engaged its policy decisions and the structure of its government with intent to obstruct any real populist movement. This is important as a discussion on the nature of populism will here indicate. Indeed, such distinctions help us to understand that it was never the intention for the United States to award its publics with the representation and access to decision-making that is espoused by populism. The very functionality of the United States, in fact, depends on the success with which democracy is meted out rather than simply proliferated without discretion as assumed by the populist movement.
In both its history and in the context of our present conversation, it becomes clear that populism always was a fringe movement without the capacity to either effect real change or to achieve an actual place of leadership in the United States. This is largely
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These grievances would take root as the formative ideals for the populist party, driving those who had responded to economic despair toward political organization. While this would be an admirable step, Hightower's article does describe the ideology which was to spring from it, showing that populism is essentially impractical under the constructs of the U.S. government. This is particularly because even as it worked to establish itself as a moderate group, the Populist movement essentially reflected more extreme positions. As Edwards denotes, "These Populists advocated staying 'in the middle of the road,' between the two larger parties, and not merging with either. In practice, these Populists were not 'in the middle,' but more sweeping in their political goals than either of the major parties." (Edwards, 1) Indeed, it is for this reason that we find in populism a view that is particularly vulnerable to rational deconstruction. Hightower observes of the leaders of the two party system from which populism sought relief that "these privileged and powerful ones have severed themselves from the common good because they can, and because there is a 'screw you' imperative built into the corporate system that commands top managers to produce as much money as possible for the big shareholders (including the top managers) as quickly as possible, no matter who or what has to be run over." (Hightower, 134)
Given the events of the last decade in which corporate and federal indiscretions had coalesced into a single heap of uncontrollable corruption, there is some reality to the criticisms that Hightower makes, just as there was some validity to the claims and ambitions of populism during its height at the turn of the century. However, the response of the populist movement was to form a policy that required totally dismantling of a capitalist system which was to help the U.S. recovery from recession. To Hightower, for instance, there are no viable political leaders in the United States, a position which suggests populism to be driven by malcontented ideology rather than political credibility. This may be noted in Hightower's hostility toward both major political parties, such that he resolves "a change is coming because there is no party representing the worker majority in our country, creating a political vacuum that a civil society cannot survive." (Hightower, 136) in this alarmist perspective, we see that the primary flaw of the populist movement was its determination to confront a class-war rather than to assert itself into a more diversified political context. The article's perspective underscores this problematically hostile approach to institutional forms. Indeed, as Hightower indicates, "in the class war of the past couple decades, the corporate and investor elites have made out like bandits by shortchanging the middle class on economic gains that the whole society has produced." (Hightower, 133)
As a political movement intended to promote interventionist government, populism has also shown itself as problematic in the controversial policies of our current president. These presume a public support which is also implied by Hightower. Hightower naively contends that "there is no need to 'create' a progressive movement, because it already exists in the hears and minds of America's ordinary folks." (Hightower, 138) Evidence suggests that this, like populism as a whole, does not truly recognize the implications of democratic representation, instead presuming 'progressive' ideology to be universal. Indeed, debate on the subject has demonstrated the nuance of positions since the election of President Obama. Indeed, in reflection on the populist policy platform, we can see some of the steps which have been taken by the Obama Administration as it perpetrates a government takeover of many previously private agencies. This is consistent with the type of anti-capitalist intervention which has always been a platform of the populists. Reflecting on their early history, "compared with silver Democrats, Populists advocated more sweeping federal intervention to offset the economic depression, curtail corporate abuses, and prevent poverty among farming and working-class families. They made a stronger statement than the major parties in support of Cuban independence and raised other issues -- such as statehood for Territories and the District of Columbia -- that Republicans and Democrats did not address." (Edwards, 1)
In large part, this denotes the role of a third party in America's two-party system, which is another subject upon which Hightower touches. He remarks that "there are now serious-minded third parties that are beginning to crack the lock that the Democrat and Republican parties have had on the system." (Hightower, 137) This ideal, now more than a decade away from Hightower's discussion, strikes as quaint and in the shadow of the Bush presidency, an explanation for the left wing splintering that allowed such republican dominance. Such is to say that the premises espoused by the populists were, like the ideals today of the Green, Reform and Libertarian parties, fringe perspectives which carry merit in the discussion of issues and function as election spoilers but are poorly qualified to truly lead or represent. This balance is shown by the degree to which populist ideals can be said to have entered into the leadership dialogue at important moments in our history but also the degree to which they have failed to actually drive leadership effectivey. This would be true even with the demise of its political movement, in spite… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Populism: Appealing but Unrealistic the United States" Assignment:
My essay needs to be EXACTLY five pages and written in MLA format. Which as you know is 12 point font, double spaced and in Times New Roman font.
This is my prompt:
"Offer a support OR a critique of the ideas of populism. To reiterate, advocate the ideas within the article and outside sources for evidence." I am choosing to offer a critique on the idea of populism, that is the stand that I am taking.
The article that is being referred to is called "Daddy's Philosophy" by Jim Hightower and can be found in the book "The Seagull Reader: Essays, second edition." It can be located on pages 132-138. I believe this book can be found in a library but if not, I am able to send it to you via e-mail. Aside from the article "Daddy's Philosophy" I need to include two other articles for additional support.
These are my directions:
"*Since this is not a personal essay, you want to avoid using the first person (i.e. "I") and need to maintain a healthy, academic distance from the subject matter. Be analytical in your approach, as your understanding of the problem in the text is unique.
*Be sure to incorporate evidence in the proper MLA style with in-text citations with the proper set-up as covered in class.
*You MUST incorporate many quotations from the text, not only to prove mastery of the key concepts within the novel, but to support your position in this discussion. We are talking two to three quotations per paragraph.
*Feel free to incorporate any additional texts you feel will enrich your study. Please share these with me so we can be assured of their relevance and validity."
If I was not clear about something and you have any questions, PLEASE feel free to contact me at shannonivy@gmail.com *****
How to Reference "Populism: Appealing but Unrealistic the United States" Essay in a Bibliography
“Populism: Appealing but Unrealistic the United States.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/populism-appealing-unrealistic/280922. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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