The Perversion of Populism in the 21st Century: The Ideology of the Elites and the Masses

Abstract

The 2016 election saw the rise of Donald Trump, a businessman with no prior political experience, to the presidency in a wave of populism. Yet, was it really populism in the traditional sense? While he lost in 2020 there was an insurrection attempting to overturn the results, despite policies from his administration that supported the wealthy and elites. This paper examines how populism in the 21st century has been perverted to support the elites, the methods that have been used to spread elite ideologies, and finally recommends some actions to address democracy in the future. KEYWORDS: Populism, Ideology, Conflict Theory, Politics