Twenty-First Century “Populism:” Not for the Unions and a Good Thing Too
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Nelson Lichtenstein
Nelson Lichtenstein is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he directs the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy. He is the author or editor of some 16 books, of which the most recent are Achieving Workers' Rights in the Global Economy (2016), edited with Richard Appelbaum: the ILO from Geneva to the Pacific Rim: West Meets East (2016), edited with Jill Jensen; and The Port Huron Statement: Sources and Legacies of the New Left's Founding Manifesto (2015), edited with Richard Flacks. He is also the author of a history of Wal-Mart and a biography of Walter Reuther. He writes for the Los Angeles Times and Dissent.
Abstract
On both the left and the right the phrase “populism” has lost any tangible meaning; or rather it is the default word used to describe otherwise unorganized and atomized anti-elite sentiment of almost any sort. The labor movement is a genuinely anti-corporate and anti-elite effort to empower workers both white and of color, but few commentators describe it as “populist,” and correctly so. This is because trade unions have an organized leadership, a concrete program, and the capacity to exist once the fever of the election season has passed. In his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders largely missed the much needed opportunity to defend and legitimize these working-class institutions for millions of potential members.
About the author
Nelson Lichtenstein is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he directs the Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy. He is the author or editor of some 16 books, of which the most recent are Achieving Workers' Rights in the Global Economy (2016), edited with Richard Appelbaum: the ILO from Geneva to the Pacific Rim: West Meets East (2016), edited with Jill Jensen; and The Port Huron Statement: Sources and Legacies of the New Left's Founding Manifesto (2015), edited with Richard Flacks. He is also the author of a history of Wal-Mart and a biography of Walter Reuther. He writes for the Los Angeles Times and Dissent.
©2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Populism in the 2016 Presidential Election
- Twenty-First Century “Populism:” Not for the Unions and a Good Thing Too
- Populism in American Politics
- Donald Trump and the Scourge of Populism
- The Populist Tsunami of the Second Gilded Age
- Trump’s All Too Familiar Strategy and Its Future in the GOP
- An Inherent Tension Within Populist Rhetoric
- Career review
- Review of the Career of Richard Fenno: Watching Politicians and Leading a Subfield
- Book reviews
- Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
- Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism-From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond / Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections (and How It Can Reclaim Its Conservative Roots)
- Why Washington Won’t Work
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Populism in the 2016 Presidential Election
- Twenty-First Century “Populism:” Not for the Unions and a Good Thing Too
- Populism in American Politics
- Donald Trump and the Scourge of Populism
- The Populist Tsunami of the Second Gilded Age
- Trump’s All Too Familiar Strategy and Its Future in the GOP
- An Inherent Tension Within Populist Rhetoric
- Career review
- Review of the Career of Richard Fenno: Watching Politicians and Leading a Subfield
- Book reviews
- Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
- Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism-From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond / Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections (and How It Can Reclaim Its Conservative Roots)
- Why Washington Won’t Work
