Source of definition: Merriam Webster
populism (noun)
- support for the concerns of ordinary people.
Ordinary Person 1 comes from humble means. Her mother, a high school teacher, raised her to value education. At the moment, and for the next several years, Ordinary Person 1’s primary concern will be maintaining a high GPA so that she can earn a merit scholarship to a top medical school.
Ordinary Person 2 hates her job but knows that, in the long run, the job benefits will be worth her monotony. She spends her days teaching high school students basic math concepts, who instead of listening to her, rely on tutors and Khan Academy to help with their homework. Ordinary Person 2’s primary concerns are calling her daughter and remembering to feed the dog.
Ordinary Person 3 could not care less about what was happening in the news. She spends her days playing cards, taking old-person pills, and inquiring after her friends’ grandsons. Her most immediate concern is the marriage of her granddaughter who is 25 and still in school. When Ordinary Person 3 was 25, she was married and had a child.
Ordinary Person 4 went on a date last week, which he thought went very well. He is concerned that his date never followed up; did he do something wrong? Perhaps it’s his fault for letting his grandmother set him up with her neighbor’s granddaughter. It would have been great to have a doctor in the family.