The Folks, No: A Transient Historical past of Anti-Populism

From the prophetic creator of the now-classic What’s the Matter with Kansas? and Hear, Liberal, an eye-opening account of populism, crucial—and misunderstood—motion of our time.

Not often does a piece of historical past include startling implications for the current, however in The Folks, No Thomas Frank pulls off that explosive impact by exhibiting us that every little thing we expect we learn about populism is unsuitable. At present “populism” is seen as a daunting factor, a time period pundits use to explain the racist philosophy of Donald Trump and European extremists. However it is a mistake.

The actual story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; it’s the story of American democracy itself, of its ever-widening promise of an honest life for all. Taking us from the tumultuous Nineties, when the novel left-wing Populist Get together—the largest mass motion in American historical past—fought Gilded Age plutocrats to the reformers’ nice triumphs underneath Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Frank reminds us how a lot we owe to the populist ethos. Frank additionally exhibits that elitist teams have reliably detested populism, lashing out at working-class issues. The anti-populist vituperations by the Washington centrists of immediately are solely the newest expression.

Frank pummels the elites, revisits the motion’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. The Folks, No is a ringing affirmation of a motion that, Frank exhibits us, isn’t the issue of our occasions, however the answer for what ails us.