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The little black book of the populist right
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 30, 2025
Bloomfield's work is a political pamphlet or essay-style booklet looking at nationalist populism through a rather left-wing lens - it's nature, defining features, why it is rising and some remedies to counter it's poisonous influence.
He begins by tracing the rise of neoliberalism following the ending of the decades' long heyday of social democracy after World War 2, arguing that Nationalist Populism has superseded not only liberal democracy, but also the hyper globalized laissez-faire doctrine of neoliberalism. The familiar argument is that the working and middle classes became disillusioned as society and economics underwent radical transformation after the 2008 financial crisis. The subsequent rupture of the "pact" between liberal left intellectual democracy and the working classes allowed the populist right to rise and occupy the space traditionally held by the social democratic left, taking control of working class votes with hot-button topics like anti-immigration. Crucially, national populism has achieved this by shifting to the left on economic affairs whilst veering sharply right on cultural issues. This deftly illustrates how populism defies and transcends traditional left/right boundaries in the culture wars as political fault lines are redefined. Thus witness the popularity of the UKIP or Reform UK among working class voters (or in America the shift of working class allegiances from the Democrats to the right-wing of the Republican party - here the hot button social topics include gun control and abortion as well as immigration). This is nothing new as such; recall that the Nazi party were originally called the National Socialist party, an apparent contradiction in terms that is all too cunningly evident when you get down and look at it up close.
The familiar characteristics of national populism are outlined - a toxic nostalgia for flag, family, religion; a hatred and intolerance for "the other" - ie : immigrants - anti-globalization, anti "big business", anti-establishment (ie : the left wing economic element); anti climate change, anti-woke where it comes to racism and feminism, and a belief in mind-boggling conspiracy theories such as the great replacement theory. All this is accompanied by attacks on the judiciary, "woke intellectuals", political opponents and the media/press.
The author traces the parallel movements in Hungary, Poland, Italy, France, Germany and Slovakia, although the main focus of the book is the UK where a mishmash of former left and right wing zealots occupy the nationalist populist space.
Bloomfield poses the relevant question whether national populism is the same as Fascism ? whist it has many of the same elements, to date it has remained within democratic boundaries and has not yet been militarized. Yet. When in power though it strives to erode the checks and balances of a liberal democratic system.
He concludes with remedies for a progressive coalition to successfully counter national populism. These seem a tad utopian and optimistic given that since publication of the book the march of the populist right has continued unabated, with Trump victorious in the US Presidential election and Nigel Farage waiting in the wings in the UK while the Labor government flounders and the Tories self implode.
He begins by tracing the rise of neoliberalism following the ending of the decades' long heyday of social democracy after World War 2, arguing that Nationalist Populism has superseded not only liberal democracy, but also the hyper globalized laissez-faire doctrine of neoliberalism. The familiar argument is that the working and middle classes became disillusioned as society and economics underwent radical transformation after the 2008 financial crisis. The subsequent rupture of the "pact" between liberal left intellectual democracy and the working classes allowed the populist right to rise and occupy the space traditionally held by the social democratic left, taking control of working class votes with hot-button topics like anti-immigration. Crucially, national populism has achieved this by shifting to the left on economic affairs whilst veering sharply right on cultural issues. This deftly illustrates how populism defies and transcends traditional left/right boundaries in the culture wars as political fault lines are redefined. Thus witness the popularity of the UKIP or Reform UK among working class voters (or in America the shift of working class allegiances from the Democrats to the right-wing of the Republican party - here the hot button social topics include gun control and abortion as well as immigration). This is nothing new as such; recall that the Nazi party were originally called the National Socialist party, an apparent contradiction in terms that is all too cunningly evident when you get down and look at it up close.
The familiar characteristics of national populism are outlined - a toxic nostalgia for flag, family, religion; a hatred and intolerance for "the other" - ie : immigrants - anti-globalization, anti "big business", anti-establishment (ie : the left wing economic element); anti climate change, anti-woke where it comes to racism and feminism, and a belief in mind-boggling conspiracy theories such as the great replacement theory. All this is accompanied by attacks on the judiciary, "woke intellectuals", political opponents and the media/press.
The author traces the parallel movements in Hungary, Poland, Italy, France, Germany and Slovakia, although the main focus of the book is the UK where a mishmash of former left and right wing zealots occupy the nationalist populist space.
Bloomfield poses the relevant question whether national populism is the same as Fascism ? whist it has many of the same elements, to date it has remained within democratic boundaries and has not yet been militarized. Yet. When in power though it strives to erode the checks and balances of a liberal democratic system.
He concludes with remedies for a progressive coalition to successfully counter national populism. These seem a tad utopian and optimistic given that since publication of the book the march of the populist right has continued unabated, with Trump victorious in the US Presidential election and Nigel Farage waiting in the wings in the UK while the Labor government flounders and the Tories self implode.
August 18, 2024
Anybody who buys a Byline book is unlikely to expect a paean of praise for the populists of the moment (or any moment!) This little book fulfils one's expectations in that respect and goes into detail many progressive thinkers or general readers may well not be aware of. Very useful for those who want to dig deeper than the information we are offered by TV or (worse still) most of the print media.
December 20, 2024
A really informative, detailed and (most importantly easy read.
July 10, 2025
Sadly factual
February 27, 2026
One of the most insightful and relevant text for the UK today
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews