No, that is not what populism is.
Yes in fact, it is. If a fervor was raised about baseball referees as a political target - Those referees would be destroyed, without any deep search for the truth of the claim... THAT is populist. Its definition may be more urbane, but that is how populism operates. It chases after the popular notion of the day - Sure that is couched as common vs. elite - Of course it is. That is always the case in uprisings. But it bears no weight of thought. It operates without guardrails - where it can claim fiscal conservatism while operating with spending at all-time limits like Tumpy's last administration. And it always dies as quickly as it rises. Because it is tied to the popular notions of the day which wax and wane according to the hens clucking and the hour of the suns rising...
Nor is conservatism necessarily anti-elitist. It is neither hostile to nor favorably to elites qua elites. Conserving a civilization (or even just the American Founding) is not something that can be done just by the mass of people. One needs certain sorts of elites: learned jurists committed to precedent and original intent, educators who know the history and great achievements of the civilization to pass them on, and in the case of Western Civilization of which the scientific method and the technologies it spawned are among the great achievements, scientists and engineers to keep advancing the material accomplishments of the civilization.
'Just a mass of people'... Like populism, you mean...
Yes, I will accept the idea that conservatism requires a certain form of elitism. But in the case of Conservatism at its best, that elitism is obtained in merit. And in that, them that can brag, let em. This is how you find elites rising to the top of a purpose - not installed by some government bureaucracy, not maintained by some inheritance - such ways lack the wisdom and can-do that are required in actual leadership, that can only be found in merit.
I have no problem with elites that deserve the title. Those who won that by merit. And that mechanism is preserved in Conservatism.
At this moment American Conservatism, even the Trump-skeptical wing, is, in fact, populist:
I will disagree profoundly. Those not on Tumpy's train (like myself) will keep their powder dry. This populism that surrounds Tumpy is not conservative. It offends Conservatism.
But that is only because our elites are corrupt.
No, EVERYTHING is corrupt. That's the difference. It is not purely the fault of leadership or elites. The fault is in every one of us, including me. In the end, the power rests in the people, according to American theory, so laying blame on the Democrats or the elites is just shallow enough to be populist. And it is in error.
