Is populism a social pathology? The myth of immediacy and its effects

This article argues that populism, both in its left-wing and right-wing versions, is a social pathology the sense contemporary critical theorists give to it. As such, it suffers from disconnect between first order political practices reflexive grasp of meaning those practices. due populists’ ideal freedom, which they understand as authentic self-expression ‘the People’, rejecting need for mediating instances such parties, parliaments or epistemic actors. When enacted institutions, this creates conditions undermining different forms including populist’s own collective self-expression, erode by fostering expressive domination. all makes populism self-defeating ideology bad candidate advancing democracy times crisis. The ends with consideration advantages view compared existing approaches populism.