Populism can be mobilized either against or in service of the power bloc

Evidence

Sometimes we can be constituted as a force against the power bloc: that is the historical opening in which it is possible to construct a culture which is genuinely popular. But, in our society, if we are not constituted like that, we will be constituted into its opposite: an effective populist force, saying “Yes” to power. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1024

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

• XREF: Anticipates later debates on right-wing populism and the ‘authoritarian populism’ thesis Hall developed about Thatcherism.
• SEED: Article angle: ‘The people’ as a contested signifier — how the same populist form can serve left and right causes.

Related

• Populist rhetoric can forge hegemonic alliances binding the people to capital. (similarity 0.80)
• Popular ‘us versus them’ discourse can be recoded to support the power bloc (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobic power can deploy oppositional tactics to advance Muslim marginalization #exemplifies (0.75) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 278
• Populist rhetoric can forge hegemonic alliances binding the people to capital. #exemplifies (0.70) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1113
• Dominant ideology recruits the dominated by neutralizing rival ideologies’ antagonism #exemplifies (0.60)