Historical Populisms and Contemporary Responses

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

On both the right and left, self-proclaimed populists insist that elite capture of electoral institutions proves their undemocratic character and attests to the inadequacy of liberal democracy. As opposed to identifying pathologies of current forms of populism, this panel takes the populist critique of liberalism seriously: How should democratic theorists think about the relationship between elites, popular power, and problems of capture and collusion? To what extent has democratic theory accommodated and/or allowed for populist complaints of oligarchy in modern representative government? In different ways, the papers of this panel explore the connection between representative institutions and elite capture, differentiate the relationship between popular sovereignty and popular agency, and analyze potential responses--both historical and contemporary--to the populist cry for greater popular politics.

Arash Abizadeh traces the amalgamation of democratic power and liberal oligarchy within the history of political thought back to Rousseau. His treatment distinguishes popular sovereignty and popular agency—a corruption that he suggests promulgated the elite capture of democratic polities. Similarly, in a more contemporary vein, Steven Klein offers a theoretical treatment of “collective power” in contradistinction to popular sovereignty, and he contends that the institutional instantiation of “collective power” can help address the populist critique of elite collusion. Natasha Piano recovers Pareto’s warning of the modern marriage of electoral institutions and capitalism that results in “demagogic plutocracy”—the consolidation of populist complaints under a charismatic and privileged elite leader. Jeffrey Lenowitz offers an account of state official punishment that can respond to the privilege and lack of accountability that populists have identified pervading contemporary liberal government. Simone Chambers will provide comments.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 2: Foundations of Political Theory

Individual Presentations

• Popular Sovereignty versus Democracy: Or, How Rousseau Killed Democracy - Arash Abizadeh, McGill University

• The Problem of Plutocracy: Populism and Liberalism in Pareto’s Political Thought - Natasha Piano, University of Chicago

• Democratic Theory and the Punishment of State Officials - Jeffrey A. Lenowitz, Brandeis University

• Inequality and the Decline of Public Modes of Action: How the Ultra-Rich are Corrupting the Practice of Politics in the United States - Amanda M. Maher, Drexel University

Chair

• Simone Chambers University of California, Irvine

Discussant

• Simone Chambers University of California, Irvine