Populists and Progressives

Populists and Progressives alerts readers to dramatic changes in the ideological and political structure of America's Democratic and Republican parties roiling Washington and shaping the 2020 presidential election. America now has four distinct contentious political orientations: progressive, liberal, conservative and populist. The least well understood are the progressives, whose programs are often confused with socialism, and populists stigmatized as reactionaries. Each has its own agenda and presses programs that are incompatible with one another, auguring protracted strife and paralysis. The book carefully elaborates the substance of each movement and analyses the social, political and economic forces driving them. It assesses their staying power and prospects in the 2020 presidential election. The analysis reveals that most contemporary American political commentary is intensely partisan and relies on obsolete notions of Democrat and Republican party doctrine and rivalry, obscuring the transformation of American society, politics and economy. Populists and Progressives assists readers to dispel the fog, allowing them to judge the present danger and help in the search for consensus solutions.
Contents: New Forces in American Politics:A Time of ConfusionRevolt of the Middle Class: The Populist RightPopulists Are Not ConservativesWhen Life Isn't Going Right, You Should Go Left: The Progressive Movement:Progressives Are Not LiberalsThe End Is All-ImportantHistory as the Servant of Present-Day PoliticsThere Is Fear from All Sides:Will Populists Persecute Minorities and Plunge the World into War?Will Progressives Oppress Their Opponents?The Mitterand RuleIs There a Place to Hide?Why Radicalization Is Happening:Domestic DisintegrationThe Struggle for the Votes of a Changing Electorate'For God's Sake, Don't Try to Improve Their Minds!':The Role of Mass MediaThe Crisis of the EstablishmentThe Surge of TribalismPolitics in Motion:A President Without a PartyProgressives Try to Displace LiberalsWill There Be Fighting in the Streets?What's Going on:I Won't Pay for a LandslideWe Know That Woman! Celebrities in PoliticsOur Future:The Politics of PaybackWhat a Government Stalemate Is Going to DoThe Political Future of PopulismThe Immediate Future:An Astonishing Story
Readership: General readers interested in American politics.Populist;Progressive;Liberal;Conservative;Middle Class;Working Class;Mass Media;Social Media;Politics;Presidential Election0Key Features:Fills a crucial void in contemporary American political, social and economic analysis which fixes on the jockeying of the Democrat and Republican parties, failing to appreciate that the Democratic Party is being captured by progressives, and the Republican Party is paralyzed by conservative conflicts with populistsIlluminates Washington's shrill politics and the deep forces shaping the portentous 2020 presidential election