The Real People: A Conversation With Jan-Werner Müller
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-4-2025
Published In
The Point
Abstract
Jan-Werner Müller is a political philosopher and historian of ideas who teaches at Princeton University. His 2016 book, What Is Populism?, managed to set the agenda for intelligent debate over the future of democracy during the first Trump administration. Conceptually precise, historically rich and politically acute, the book focuses on populism as a danger to democratic pluralism and thereby reveals why figures like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, both sometimes labeled populist, have never been two sides of the same coin. Shortly after Trump’s second inauguration I met with Müller over Zoom to ask how he understands populism now, and what lessons he thinks leftist and liberal intellectuals should draw from the past few years.
Recommended Citation
J.-W. Müller and Jonny Thakkar.
(2025).
"The Real People: A Conversation With Jan-Werner Müller".
The Point.
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-poli-sci/780
