United populisms of America: exploring anti-corporate sentiment in populist social movements

Abstract

Inspired by the literature on populist social movements and Ralph Nader’s convergence thesis, this paper aims to understand the potential for a left–right anti-corporate political convergence in the USA. We use the academic interpretation treating populism as a citizen’s reaction against perceived unresponsive elites, where anti-corporate grievances voiced by populist movements reflect feelings of political exclusion. Qualitative content analysis is applied using secondary sources written or spoken directly by eight “voices” representing Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party. Potential areas of convergence are taken from Nader’s Unstoppable. The analysis suggests common grievances with regards to corporate welfare, bailouts, and trade. From a discursive perspective, an anti-corporate populist convergence seems to be possible. Our academic contribution is a first step toward understanding what a left–right anti-corporate alliance might look like. We open possibilities for further research into corporate grievances shared by ideologically different populist movements and potential societal implications.