Part 4/11:
The speaker clarifies the difference between populism and traditional ideological divides. While conventional politics tends to be horizontally polarized—left versus right—populism reconfigures this tension vertically: the people versus the elite. The antagonism isn't between liberals and conservatives but between ordinary citizens and the corrupt ruling class.
This vertical divide enables populists across the spectrum to unite by challenging shared grievances such as economic disparity, political corruption, and social injustice. Winston Marshall, the former banjoist of the band Mumford & Sons, is highlighted as a powerful voice defending populism at an Oxford debate, boldly asserting that populism is the antidote to elite tyranny.