ABSTRACT
The idea that critical theory might isolate and throw its weight behind a ‘leftist populism’ that has been stirred up as a revolt against neoliberalism is gaining ground. On such accounts, a trending progressive populism further sidelines the ‘anachronistic’ social democratic project. This chapter argues that the rush to endorse the redemptive power of leftist populism has backed the wrong horse. Populism as a genre of democratic politics occupies an ideological space that has been cleared by neoliberalism and provides a second line of defence for it in troubled times.
