ABSTRACT
Populism represents an anti-scientific movement characterized by the simplification, emotionalized discussion style, and irrational rejection of analytical, logical, and evidence-based arguments. However, closer analysis reveals that the current reality of science itself is largely dominated by practices and habits that can be categorized as distinctly populist. In the present chapter, I elaborate on this provocative thesis with reference to (a) the continued role of significance-testing, (b) the discourse on questionable research practices, (c) ineffective debunking and persistence of scientific myths, and (d) the impoverished status of what might be called emancipation in science. In discussing these issues with reference to recent empirical evidence, I deliberately violate the pragmatic rule that populism can only be attributed to others but not to oneself.
