Constructing the Basic Theoretical Framework of Po...
After combing through the historical changes in the usage of“populism”，J.B.Allcock claimed that the confusion of the concept of populism is not only a semantic problem，but also reveals the essence behind the phenomenon.In view of the complexity of the concept of populism，J.B.Allcock suggested to construct the basic theoretical framework of populism with the concept of “part society”，which is widely used in anthropology，so as to solve the problem of the diversified definitions of populism.
According to the “part/whole” theory in anthropology，in a peasant society，there is a “part society”，which lies in and outside of the “whole”.For example，although the peasants entering cities have come from the countryside，they still live in cities.They have retained their original identities and have constructed part societies with the “part culture”.Therefore，they show the characteristics of “neither urban people nor peasants”.J.B.Allcock argued that many distinct features of populist response can be understood with the “part/whole” theory.Taking the United States as an example，he stated that American populism had some characteristics in“part/whole” situations.On the one hand，the core theme of American populist ideology has originated from the “great tradition”of liberalism.On the other hand，in the rural situation，the development of institutionalization and rule of law，the essential elements of democratic operation，is relatively lagging behind.As a result，this group of Americans are both within and outside the American society.The “great tradition”of ideology conveys universal values to them.However，in the rural situation，such universal values do not conform to formal organizations and institutional structures.Populists invoke the sacred law of American liberalism to demand institutional reconstruction.[20] The “part/whole”theory can integrate various populist phenomena or examples，but the problem is that it is not a unique feature of populism，and this theory is also applicable to other political phenomena，labor movement，for instance.