The South: Where the populists live
Do the terms liberal/conservative, Democrat/Republican, Red/Blue really capture the political viewpoints held by most Americans? The Pew Research Center doesn't think so, and has released another interesting poll on political typology in the U.S. that shows why. Here's a snapshot of their latest findings:
Even more interesting, of those who can be classified, the poll shows that "POPULISM" is one of the most popular ideologies in the country.
What's a "populist"? Pew defines "populists" as those who "favor an active role for government in both the economic and the social spheres" -- i.e., they don't think corporations and the "free market" should be given free rein, but they also favor government intervention on "morality" issues.
What do "populists" look like? Socio-economically, Pew says,
How many Americans are populists? A lot, according to Pew's poll. 16% of Americans hold views that are "populist" -- the second biggest group in the country behind "liberals" (18%), and ahead of "conservatives" (15%) and "libertarians" (9%).
Even more striking, almost half -- 47% -- of all "populists" live in the South, the highest concentration of any ideological group, in any region of the country. The only other ideological group that is so disproportionately clustered in a region are "libertarians" (32% of the laissez faire folks have gravitated to the West.)
What does this all mean? It suggests that Southerners aren't the monolithic "conservatives" they are often portrayed to be, and that on economic bread-and-butter issues they often support the progressive position. Although they have conservative positions on gay marriage and abortion, here's how these "populists" stack up on economic issues:
This isn't a big surprise (although some still discount the idea of economic populism being a winning issue in the South). But I think it does help describe what I have long felt is the core challenge for Southern progressives: how to build on the disposition of many Southerners to support progressive economic views, while not accomodating their conservative social positions?
[W]hile there is little question that U.S. politics have become more polarized in recent years, the red-blue political shorthand is far from adequate to describe the full spectrum of Americans' political views. Judging by their opinions on a number of issues, many Americans simply do not fit well within either the conservative or the liberal ideological camps, instead falling into one of the two other important U.S. political traditions -- libertarian and populist -- or defying attempts to pigeon-hole them.One interesting finding: based on questions about health care, Social Security, gay marriage, and other issues, 42% of Americans are "ambivalent" -- they don't fit neatly into any political category.
Even more interesting, of those who can be classified, the poll shows that "POPULISM" is one of the most popular ideologies in the country.
What's a "populist"? Pew defines "populists" as those who "favor an active role for government in both the economic and the social spheres" -- i.e., they don't think corporations and the "free market" should be given free rein, but they also favor government intervention on "morality" issues.
What do "populists" look like? Socio-economically, Pew says,
[Populists] are less affluent: only 13% live in households with incomes of $75,000 or higher - 8 percentage points lower than the national average.They're also not just white guys. "Populist" was the top-ranking category for both women and African-Americans in the Pew poll.
How many Americans are populists? A lot, according to Pew's poll. 16% of Americans hold views that are "populist" -- the second biggest group in the country behind "liberals" (18%), and ahead of "conservatives" (15%) and "libertarians" (9%).
Even more striking, almost half -- 47% -- of all "populists" live in the South, the highest concentration of any ideological group, in any region of the country. The only other ideological group that is so disproportionately clustered in a region are "libertarians" (32% of the laissez faire folks have gravitated to the West.)
What does this all mean? It suggests that Southerners aren't the monolithic "conservatives" they are often portrayed to be, and that on economic bread-and-butter issues they often support the progressive position. Although they have conservative positions on gay marriage and abortion, here's how these "populists" stack up on economic issues:
Only 25% percent of "populists" that want to make the Bush tax cuts permanent (second lowest only to "liberals")And here's the kicker: they're also a huge partisan "swing group": 40% of "populists" either identify as, or lean Democrat.
31% percent that think businesses make a fair profit (the lowest of all political types)
42% percent that think "free trade" agreements are good for the country (lowest)
91% percent that favor increasing the minimum wage (second highest to liberals)
This isn't a big surprise (although some still discount the idea of economic populism being a winning issue in the South). But I think it does help describe what I have long felt is the core challenge for Southern progressives: how to build on the disposition of many Southerners to support progressive economic views, while not accomodating their conservative social positions?
4 Comments:
That's the trick -- running with the economic populism while not forgetting social justice.
The flood of '27 created an increase in populism and the success of Huey P. Long. An obvious parallel with the situation today, but who will emerge as a voice now?
I live in the United Kingdom.
It is so good to read that Americans still know what a populist is.
In Britain, the word 'populist' now means someone who promises bread and circuses to the masses.
Every day I hear it used by the BBC as a synonym for a popular con man. I guess it's a sign of the times that one of the largest democratic movements in US history is now a word that means untrustworthy. That's all.
In Britain, the word 'populist' now means someone who promises bread and circuses to the masses.
Hahaha, thats what it means here too.
Don't you guys realize why Bush is so unpopular in the South? Bread and Circuses paid for out of our pockets coupled with continuous incompetance in all areas. He basically brings all the spendiness of FDR only without any leadership or competance.
I'd like to see the criteria Pew used to classify people as "conservative" vs "libertarian" or "populist." I have been suspicious of such studies since a certain poll in berekely ended up labeling a bunch of mildly left-leaning centrists as "right wing conservatives" because their views were simply to the right of a very far left local population.
To bad all of the southern people interested in "social justice" already have felony records and can't vote. This little revolution was forestalled years ago. Ha ha.
Post a Comment
Return to Facing South's main page