I’ve only begun hearing the word “populist” in the last few years or so. It suggests to me someone who’s popular (…what’s wrong with that?), or whose aim in life is to make himself popular (… isn’t that true of all of us, to some extent?)

“Populist”, for all its fuzziness, has a vague glow of approval about it. Ending as it does in “-ist”, it confers the right to be unashamedly what it proclaims.

A political right – a philosophical right – a flossifolossical right! (bangs fist on podium.)

But I notice the word is mostly applied to the sort of people we once called rabble-rousers, or more politely demagogues. Now if that last word has dropped out of use, then I for one don’t want to bring it back. Unless we’re to start teaching classical Greek in schools once again.

But please — please! — let’s stop using the word “populist”. Let’s all go back to calling these people by their right name. Rabble-rouser says it all. It’s unambiguous, it’s expressive, and it doesn’t pussyfoot around.