Democracy Paradox Podcast
About the Episode:

Pepper Culpepper joins the Democracy Paradox to discuss when populism can strengthen democracy. Drawing on his Journal of Democracy article “When Populism Can Be Good” and his book with Taeku Lee, Billionaire Backlash, Culpepper argues that corporate scandals can channel public anger toward billionaires and large corporations in ways that reinforce democratic accountability. The conversation explores good and bad populism, economic unfairness, AI, regulation, and whether democratic governments can still stand up to concentrated corporate power.

Full Transcript

Show Notes:

Pepper Culpepper joins the Democracy Paradox to make the provocative case that populism is not always a threat to democracy. Drawing on his Journal of Democracy article “When Populism Can Be Good” and his new book with Taeku Lee, Billionaire Backlash: The Age of Corporate Scandal and How It Could Save Democracy, Culpepper argues that moments of corporate scandal can activate latent public anger and create openings for meaningful reform. Rather than dismissing all populism as inherently dangerous, he distinguishes between forms that undermine pluralism and those that push elites to become more responsive to democratic demands.

Culpepper describes “good populism” as a politics that targets economic unfairness without scapegoating immigrants, minorities, or other vulnerable groups. In his research, he finds that many citizens across the United States and Europe feel the system is rigged in favor of billionaires and large corporations. Those sentiments do not necessarily translate into hostility toward democracy or toward out-groups. Instead, they often reflect a demand for stronger regulation, better antitrust enforcement, and a state capable of standing up to concentrated economic power.

The conversation also explores how corporate scandals can transform public opinion into political action. Culpepper argues that scandals do not simply create new views from nothing; they crystallize concerns that are already present but often crowded out by more visible political issues. From the Progressive Era to the financial crisis and today’s concerns about AI, data centers, and billionaire influence, scandals can open policy windows for reformers who have long been advocating changes to the rules that govern markets.

Host Justin Kempf presses Culpepper on whether this kind of populism depends too heavily on bureaucratic elites and whether calls for more regulation conflict with recent arguments for abundance and state capacity. Culpepper responds that democratic governments need the ability both to deliver public goods and to restrain corporate power. The episode asks listeners to reconsider whether populism is naturally good or bad – or whether the real question is who populist anger targets, what values it defends, and whether it ultimately strengthens or weakens democracy.

Links:

 

Listen: