RECLAIMING POPULISMUnderstanding Trump, Brexit, and Economic Fairness
How Economic Fairness Can Win Back Disenchanted Votersand Address Populist Movements Like Trump and Brexit
A Book by Eric Protzer & Paul Summerville - Published by Polity Books
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Featured at the 2022 Oxford Literary Festival
"You think income inequality causes populism? Think again! Reclaiming Populism convincingly argues that the issue is not how unequal income is, it is the lack of social mobility. Unlike so many books on populism, the authors propose a policy agenda to guide action."
- Professor Ricardo Hausmann, Harvard University
"Reclaiming Populism is a must read... Perceived causes of anger are often incorrect diagnoses, and dealing with issues in a fairer way lies at the heart of a better society and world."
- Baron Jim O'Neill, Former CEO of Goldman Sachs
"[Protzer and Summerville] have crunched vast amounts of data... The usual explantion from the left (that populist politics is a response to growing inequality) or from the right (that it is due to permissive immigration policies) both appear to be wrong. Rather, what lies behind the political rage which produces populist politics is a generalised sense of 'unfairness' which arises from a decline in social mobility and frustrated opportunities."
- Vince Cable, Former Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats
Populist upheavals like Trump, Brexit, and the Gilets Jaunes happen when the system really is rigged. Citizens the world over are angry not due to income inequality or immigration, but economic unfairness: that opportunity is not equal and reward is not according to contribution.
This forensic book draws on original research, cited by the UN, IMF, and EU, to demonstrate that illiberal populism strikes hardest when success is influenced by family origins rather than talent and effort. Protzer and Summerville propose a framwork of policy inputs that instead support high social mobility, and apply it to diagnose the differing reasons behind economic unfairness in the US, UK, Italy, and France. By striving for a fair, socially-mobile conomy, they argue, it is possible to craft a politics that reclaims the reasonable grievances behind populism.
Reclaiming Populism is a must-read for policymakers, scholars, and citizens who want to bring disenchanted populist voters back into the fold of liberal democracy.
Media Features & Events
London School of Economics (LSE) Book Talk
World Inequality Lab Book Talk with Thomas Piketty
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio Interview
Review by the European Council of the EU
Feature by Times Higher Education