Reconstructing Pluralism and Populism

Abstract This chapter explores the relationship between populism and pluralism. Through a reconstruction of the term “pluralism,” and a consideration of populist and pluralist rhetoric, it argues that pluralism can help address the challenges of populism—but that it is misleading to construe the two as “opposites.” In support of this argument, it disaggregates various meanings of the term “pluralism” and shows why one iteration in particular, which associates pluralism with an anti-political version of liberalism, is harmful to attempts at countering populism. While populism (especially right-wing populism) presents a danger to individual liberty and the rule of law, the chapter contends that instead of placing too much emphasis on liberal values, we should look for a more political response. This response is found in the account of pluralism that emerged in the mid-twentieth-century United States: an account focused on preventing unhealthy concentrations of power and facilitating citizens’ control over government.