Overly minimal definitions of populism make the label apply to almost all modern politicians

Evidence

The same minimalism, however, also unleashes a fevered paranoia among academics and journalists: suddenly one detects populism everywhere. If a belief in politics as the conflict between a virtuous people and a corrupt establishment is enough to brand someone a populist, virtually every modern political actor would appear on the list of suspects. — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 49

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Condemning ‘populism’ indirectly delegitimizes popular sovereignty itself — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 51; Academic definitions of populism have spawned a media industry resembling personality-test astrology — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment: The Left After the…, 48; Ideological labels simplify rather than distort the real political world — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2085

Broader Connections

• Academic definitions of populism have spawned a media industry resembling personality-test astrology #expands (0.80) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 48
• Condemning ‘populism’ indirectly delegitimizes popular sovereignty itself #expands (0.75) — Arthur Borriello and Anton Jäger, The Populist Moment, 51
• Ideological labels simplify rather than distort the real political world #complicates (0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2085