For a Left Populism

2018 pamphlet by Chantal Mouffe

978-1-78663-757-4

For a Left Populism is a 2018 pamphlet by the Belgian writer Chantal Mouffe.

Synopsis

Influenced by Carl Schmitt's friend-enemy distinction, the Belgian political theorist Chantal Mouffe promotes the development of left-wing populism as a method to establish hegemony for progressivist views. Mouffe argues that the current political situation is a "populist moment" and the left can use this to define a "people", which can be done on other grounds than nation or race, and mobilise it against adversaries chosen by the left.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Reception

William Davies wrote in The Guardian that there are some recent examples of what Mouffe seems to favour, such as Syriza, Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, but that it remains unclear how the left can reach its goals through populism, and how a left-wing populism can remain distinct from right-wing populism and avoid adopting "certain aspects of fascism (such as antisemitism)".^[1] Publishers Weekly called the book "a noble effort that grows increasingly muddled" and wrote that it is "difficult to tell who this book was written for, since large swaths of the left (in Western Europe and elsewhere) either already practice what Mouffe proposes or participate in the more radical formations that she critiques".^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Davies, William (7 July 2018). "For a Left Populism by Chantal Mouffe review – the right doesn't have to win". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
^ Demir, Gökhan (2019). "For a Left Populism by Chantal Mouffe. London: Verso, 2018". Rethinking Marxism. 31 (4): 541–545. doi:10.1080/08935696.2019.1650574.
^ Hockenos, Paul (31 October 2018). "Review of 'For a Left Populism'". International Politics and Society. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
^ Torre, Carlos de la (2019). "Is left populism the radical democratic answer?". Irish Journal of Sociology. 27 (1): 64–71. doi:10.1177/0791603519827225.
^ "For a Left Populism". Publishers Weekly. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2023.