[lbo-talk] INSTANT POPULISM: A short history of populism old and new

[Somebody Somebody]

Bhaskar: I wouldn't blur the line between populist parties (which by their nature are inchoate ideologically, multiclass, never pose the question of structural transformation) and parties lead by the working class. Isn't there a difference between a populist party like Peron's Partido Justicialista or the Workers' Party in Brazil. Or between labor parties and social liberal ones (like the Democrats)? 

Somebody: Sure, but maybe the difference is one of policy, not of a clear bifurcation between populist and Marxist. We've seen how purportedly Marxist regimes can choose capitalist reforms merely as a policy choice. And we've also seen populist regimes like Libya and Myanmar in the 70's and 80's that were more radical and brought more structural change than supposedly Marxist ones like South Yemen, Ethiopia, or Afghanistan.