Populism

[Michael Perelman]

Does it make sense to generalize about the populists?  Marx on the petty
bourgeoisie makes more sense.  Sometimes, the populists did marvelous
things, which Goodwyn notes.  Sometimes, they could be horrible.

When I was in France, the French rural sociologists told me how virtually
identical villages would follow very different political paths.  One might
be rabidly right-wing, and another devoutly communist.  They could find no
explanation for the divergence except for the unpredictability of the
petty bourgeoisie.

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu