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What is populism?

In the majority of human beings, whether they are ordinary people or powerful individuals, the main innate motivation is social ambition, that is, the desire to rise in the social hierarchy. Our species, Homo sapiens, shares this instinct with many species of great apes.Social ambition is expressed mainly in the form of participation in the game of alliances, which we call Social ambition is mainly expressed in the form of participation in the game of alliances, which we callgeneralized nepotism

Populism consists of seeking to obtain the support of the people by exacerbating the instinct of 'us against them', by embedding in the collective culture more or less imaginary groups presented as threatened.
Us, the little people, versus the elites.Us, the natives, versus the immigrants,etc.

At the level of the pursuit of power, such a system, which does not appeal to reason but to instinct, allows for a stronger and more stable level of support than a political system based on a common project rooted in reason.Conversely, at the level of the exercise of power, it only produces an escalation of social tensions, which can lead all the way to civil war.

Go deeper

See the question 'What is a human?'then 'What are the consequences of social ambition? The concept of generalized nepotism'and finally 'Why do humans systematically reason incorrectly?