Late Night Health

Hard-pressed farmers launched the original Populist movement, calling for a widening democracy to counter corporate monopoly and profiteering. Their resentment of the rich grew as the economy alternated between rapid growth and economic depression, producing both millionaires and destitute families. The Populist challenge to unbridled capitalism would finally force Republicans and especially Democrats to recognize the growing support for progressive change within their ranks. Fast-forward to modern times. Today’s pundits would have us believe that “populists” of the left—no less so than the right—are uniquely drawn to authoritarian politics. According to Babson,” The historical Populists are forgotten today as commentators tell us that Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed billionaire, is somehow also a ‘populist.’"It is because of the political climate of recent times that Babson began to explore how it was possible that politicians of completely different mindsets could somehow be connected to the idea of “populi