Nathan J. Robinson’s Curious Critique

“If people’s convictions about those particular issues are weak enough that they could be changed by watching Rising, they surely could be changed in many other ways…”

A recent piece in Current Affairs, written by its editor Nathan J. Robinson, has caused a considerable degree of controversy among many on the Left. The piece, entitled “Isn’t ‘Right-Wing Populism’ Just Fascism?” revolves around the idea of the potential for agreements, disagreements, and collaborations between the so-called populist left and populist right. While this is the broader subject that Robinson’s article seeks to discuss, the question is largely framed in the context of the popular online news show Rising, from The Hill, hosted by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, as well as their 2019 book A Populist’s Guide to 2020. (Krystal Ball is a former MSNBC host, a network with which she has cited many ideological conflicts even during her time there. Saagar Enjeti is the former White House Correspondent for Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel’s The Daily Caller.) The term “populism” has competing—even if somewhat related—definitions, sometimes with negative connotations. The way that it is used in this context, on which both Robinson and his opponents agree, is a more neutral one. Essentially, populism means opposition to the elites and “the establishment” in favor of policies that benefit the majority of people.

Nothing about this definition suggests that populism has to be necessarily a phenomenon of the Left. It could very well appeal, for example, to a more socially conservative rural population, or to religious sentiments in a deeply religious country. Robinson’s argument, however, attacks the notion of right populism and, by extension, the premise of Ball and Enjeti’s show in two different ways. On one hand, Robinson questions how much contemporary figures characterized as populists really fit into the definition. On the other, as the title suggests, he casts doubt upon the basic moral worth of right-wing populism in general. At the very beginning of the article, Robinson even goes so far as to assert that two populists from the Right were Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. The idea, then, is that by presenting populism as one unified force with just some disagreements between its left-wing and right-wing variants, left populists are sanitizing the views of fascists and other unsavory characters.

Michael Brooks, host of the left-wing podcast The Michael Brooks Show, did a segment criticizing the broad brush with which Robinson paints right-wing populism as identical with fascism, while also stressing the importance of conceptual clarity.

Robinson’s piece caused considerable controversy among many popular media figures on the Left, some of whom wholeheartedly agreed with Robinson’s assessment, while others criticized his approach. Krystal Ball herself did a segment responding to the article, in which she argued that there is no reason why left-wing populists should not collaborate with populists on the Right on issues where they agree, while remaining true to their principles where they disagree. In the segment, she cites examples such as Senator Bernie Sanders working with Tea Party Senator Mike Lee and former Republican Congressman Ron Paul on several bills in congress. These include one to audit the Federal Reserve and another to end the United States’ involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Michael Brooks, host of the left-wing podcast The Michael Brooks Show, did a segment criticizing the broad brush with which Robinson paints right-wing populism as identical with fascism, while also stressing the importance of conceptual clarity. Robinson then wrote a follow-up article in which he argues that—while he agrees that it is healthy and useful to debate the Right—his problem is not this but the fact that a show like Rising exaggerates the degree to which there is an agreement between the Left and Right while downplaying disagreements. Particularly, Robinson stresses his view that Rising specifically downplays disagreements on topics on which the Left not only disagrees with the Right but might also find the Right’s positions morally objectionable.