top of page
Brief History and Context
Since the Greek and Roman times,
“the people” has been used in at least three senses:
-
First, the people as the whole (which is to say, all members of the polity);
-
Second, the “common people” (the excluded, the downtrodden, and the forgotten);
-
And third, the nation as a whole, understood in a distinctly cultural sense.
​
As explained by William A. Galston, historically, right-leaning populists have emphasized shared ethnicity and common descent, while left-leaning populists have often defined the people in class terms, excluding those with wealth and power.
bottom of page