For me, populism is both what the people believe is in their best interests, what is in their best interests, and a concrete ideology, but it’s not necessarily what some prominent politician who claims to exclusively represent the people (as opposed to special interests) says is in their best interests.
Just because x politician claims to be exclusively for the people, doesn’t make him a populist, they have to earn the trust and support of the people, and have their interests at heart and in mind, in order to be populists.
The people manifest their trust and support through activism, contributing, donating to and voting for a party or politician.
The less grass roots a party or politician, the less likely they’re populists.
So populism is necessarily democratic.
The people aren’t any and all people, they’re at the very least citizens of a particular nation state (not foreigners), if not the demographic the majority of people belong to, or if there is none, then the demographic the largest minority of people belong to.
In North America, this means working and middle class white men and women.
To put Canada first, which’s what we should do, means to put these people first.
A country that puts foreigners, minorities and the elite first is like a family that puts others ahead of their own children i.e. not a family at all.
For me, populism isn’t left or right.
You could say it’s center, but it’s more accurate to say it’s center-right on cultural and social issues (libertarian conservatism, white nationalism), and center-left on economic issues (social democracy and social corporatism).
It’s center-left on economic issues rather than far-left, because about half the people belong to the working class, and the other half the middle class.
The working class lean left on economic issues, and the middle class center.
Populism doesn’t pit the working and middle classes against each other.
Also, far-left (democratic socialism) or far-right (unsocial corporatism) often or usually lead to totalitarian dictatorship, which’s undemocratic, unpopular, and so not populist.
Populism also doesn’t pit men and women against each other either, or half the population against the other half.
However, there’re two forms of equality between men and women, traditional equality, and modern equality.
Traditional equality meant women had less negative rights, but more positive rights than men.
Modern equality meant women had as many negative and positive rights as men.
Post-modern equality, which isn’t equality at all, means women have more negative and positive rights than men.
Post-modern feminism is incompatible with populism.
But both traditional equality, and modern equality are compatible with populism, and I’m open to having either one, or a combination of the two.
Men and women can decide together what they think is best.