The People, No, Thomas Frank
The People, No, Thomas Frank
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The People, No
A Brief History of Anti-Populism

Author: Thomas Frank

Narrator: Thomas Frank

Unabridged: 8 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/14/2020


Synopsis

From the prophetic author of the now-classic What’s the Matter with Kansas? and Listen, Liberal, an eye-opening account of populism, the most important—and misunderstood—movement of our time.

Rarely does a work of history contain startling implications for the present, but in The People, No Thomas Frank pulls off that explosive effect by showing us that everything we think we know about populism is wrong. Today “populism” is seen as a frightening thing, a term pundits use to describe the racist philosophy of Donald Trump and European extremists. But this is a mistake.

The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; it is the story of American democracy itself, of its ever-widening promise of a decent life for all. Taking us from the tumultuous 1890s, when the radical left-wing Populist Party—the biggest mass movement in American history—fought Gilded Age plutocrats to the reformers’ great triumphs under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Frank reminds us how much we owe to the populist ethos. Frank also shows that elitist groups have reliably detested populism, lashing out at working-class concerns. The anti-populist vituperations by the Washington centrists of today are only the latest expression.

Frank pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. The People, No is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution for what ails us.

A Macmillan Audio production from Metropolitan Books

About Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank is the author of Listen, Liberal, Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What's the Matter with Kansas? A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler and writes regularly for The Guardian. He lives outside Washington, D.C.


Reviews

Goodreads review by W.D. on December 28, 2021

If you are at all a bit of a jerk like me, the indiscriminate use of certain words not only makes you cringe, it also makes you instantly evaluate whether or not the user of them could ever be your friend. Like kicking your dog, or reserving a special corner of your library (or "heart") for the "nov......more

Goodreads review by David on March 19, 2020

Thomas Frank has discovered that the term populism is fungible. Since its invention in the late 1800s, when it meant the native intelligence of the populace at large to correct the ills and corruption of the USA, it has been hijacked numerous times in different eras. Like everything else in the univ......more

Goodreads review by Eric on June 23, 2020

TL;DR Thomas Frank’s The People, No should be required reading for VP Joe Biden’s campaign and anyone wanting to know how the Democratic party abdicated the working class. Highly recommended! Disclaimer: I received a free eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. To read more review......more

Goodreads review by Wick on December 21, 2020

Here’s a novel idea: maybe people know what’s best for themselves. Author of Listen Liberal, Frank offers another scathing analysis of not only the switch and bait of the modern day Republican Party but a timely repudiation of the liberal intelligentsia. Here we get a refocusing of populism. The auth......more