The Impossibility of Populism

Populism—a regime where the people rule—is impossible because it is not clear who “the people” are and what they want. Populism requires the illusion of a ruler who incarnates the people but who, in reality can rule only a part of the people to the detriment of the rest. The only way populism would be possible is if the people is—or rather are—conceived as a set of separate individuals, each of whom governs himself or herself.