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BEYOND BINARIES: TECHNOCRACY, POPULISM AND PUBLIC POLICY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2022

Adrian Pabst Open the ORCID record for Adrian Pabst [Opens in a new window]
Adrian Pabst*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
*
*Corresponding author. Email: a.pabst@niesr.ac.uk
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Abstract

Populism is a paradoxical phenomenon that resists easy categorisation because it both rejects and intensifies certain elements of technocracy. Populist politics is at once a backlash against liberal-technocratic ideology and policy and an attempted corrective of some of its worst excesses, such as increasing inequality or pressures on wages. Despite deep differences, both rest on a binary logic that conceals alternatives to the convergence around variants of techno-populism defended by either ‘corporate populists’ or ‘insurgent populists’. One alternative is a public policy programme focused on the building of an economic democracy with more democratic workplaces and a greater emphasis on the dignity of decent jobs, besides policies to reduce regional disparities and foster shared prosperity. But policies alone cannot fully address the deep-seated grievances fuelling the support for populists. Fundamental institutional reform is needed to devolve power and wealth to people and the places where they live and work.

Keywords

corporate populisminsurgent populismtechno-populismpolitical economypolicy programmeH7P16Z18
Type
Special Issue Articles: The Political Economy of Populism
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 259: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF POPULISM , Winter 2022 , pp. 67 - 80
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of National Institute Economic Review

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