The Wisdom of the People - the Populist Rationale



By Michael Collins

The citizens of the United States have excellent judgment. They have shown it consistently over time. When that judgment shifts briefly allowing a failed policy, it is a result of the vilest forms of propaganda by a small clique of liars. (Image: PS-OV-ART)

The people were right about the invasion of Iraq

The people were right about the bailout

Who pays attention to the public? Not our leaders. There was a time when ordinary people rose up and offered a declaration based on the people's wisdom.

A Populist Manifesto

One of the earliest populist declarations applies directly to the challenges we face right now. It represented a bold assertion from those denied the benefits of their labor. These were not experts. They were, by and large, farmers. They were not Ivy League graduates. But their education was sufficient to generate a revolutionary statement addressing the massive inequalities of their time.

The 1892 Populists argued that a small group of individuals and entities within society controlled the majority of wealth and power. This cabal of the very few manipulated the system to serve their will leaving the people with varying degrees of nothing. The 1892 platform of the Populist Party crystallized this argument:

"The conditions which surround us best justify our cooperation; we meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the Legislatures, the Congress, and touches even the ermine of the bench."

How did this happen. The populists had an answer:

"The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, public opinion silenced, business prostrated, homes covered with mortgages, labor impoverished, and the land concentrating in the hands of capitalists." 1892 platform

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