Stephen Downes

The argument offered in this post is that populism is based on our intuitive ways of thinking, in contrast with political stances based on more analytical styles of thinking. These are often in accord, but populists emphasize areas in which they differ, for example, (over-estimating) the influence of punishment on crime, (insensitive) uses of language, (resisting) solutions based on collective action, (disregarding) rule of law, and (inclination toward) conspiracy theories. It's tempting to depict the populist as always wrong (and in these five areas they generally are) but the analytical approach is also not without faults. "Analytical reasoning is sometimes a poor substitute for intuitive cognition. There is a vast literature detailing the hubris of modern rationalism... Democratic political systems are fairly responsive to public opinion, but they are still systems of elite rule, and so there are specific issues on which the people genuinely have not been listened to, no matter how angry or upset they got."